Claims over Rs 1 crore settled under MHIS-III

SHILLONG: Barely a month after the third phase of the Megha Health Insurance Scheme (MHIS-III) was rolled out, claims amounting to over one crore rupees have been settled according to Health Department sources.
Speaking at the enrolment drive conducted at Pynthorumkhrah on Tuesday, MHIS CEO H.M Shangpliang informed that so far 3,522 people in the State have already benefitted from the third phase of the scheme.
The policy period of the MHIS-III began from July 1, 2017 and by the end of the month, 2.52 lakh households in the State have been enrolled under the scheme. The target is to enroll 8.86 lakh households.
According to Shangpliang, the enrolment for the MHIS-III would continue till September.
He, however, admitted that last year, there were complaints of MHIS being misused by people and therefore the department is stressing that people should collect their smart cards immediately after enrolment and not leave it to the MLAs and Rangbah Shnong to hand over the card to them later.
Local MLA AL Hek, who is also the former Health and Family Welfare Minister, informed that the State Government spent Rs 52 crore during phase II of the scheme which ended last year.
He urged people to keep their smart cards safe as there were several complaints of people going to hospitals without the card after having misplaced it and seeking discounts for medical treatment.
“People should take the card with them and produce it at the MHIS counter when they get admitted in hospitals,” he said.
He further clarified that the MHIS facility is available only for those who are admitted in hospital for treatment.
The insurance cover under the phase III of MHIS has been increased from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.8 lakh. The MHIS this year also has an additional senior citizen cover of Rs 30,000.
Earlier, the govern-ment had signed an MoU with New India Assurance Company to roll out its enhanced phase-III of MHIS-III for nearly 30 lakh people.
MHIS-III has been designed to fully integrate with the existing public health system in the State and will also significantly expand the number and quality of specialty and super specialty hospitals empanelled under the scheme.