SHILLONG: Health and Family Welfare Minister AL Hek said on Wednesday the Megha Health Insurance Scheme (MHIS) is currently on a policy break and has not been stopped.
The minister’s remark comes a day after leader of the opposition Mukul Sangma criticised the new government for discontinuing the scheme.
The minister explained that the state government had tried to continue MHIS in convergence with the national Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) and the upcoming scheme will bring about further improvements and an enhanced coverage of Rs 5 lakh per household as compared to the previous cover of Rs 2.8 lakh.
He said the department is in the process of selecting the insurance company for the next phase of MHIS policy period with a re-tender issued on October 26 even as he added that they were looking to finalise the selection of insurance company at the earliest.
He recalled that during the transition from MHIS-II to MHIS-III, there were similar challenges faced due to which there was a policy break from November 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017.
“The government… remains committed to provide citizens of the state a universal health insurance scheme,” the minister added.