Chennai: Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance scheme (CMCHIS) provides free treatment for people below poverty line at government and private hospitals, but only 56 per cent of the total eligible population has been enrolled under the scheme, owing to ignorance about the scheme.
While health department announced to launch a provision for generating e-health insurance identity card on Tuesday, the cards being issued to individuals at the portal offices of CMCHIS at district collectorate struggles to find beneficiaries. Lack of awareness among people about availing the benefits through identity card questions the efficiency of such provisions.
Though state government spent Rs 9 crore on popularizing the scheme, even eligible population remains ignored.
"I was informed that it was necessary for people whose annual income was below Rs. 72,000 to enroll for identity cards, like Aadhar cards. I did not know that I can use it for health treatment in government or private hospitals," said K Ramesh, a resident of Washermanpet. When asked about the same in the locality where most labourers dwell, most of the cardholders had never used the identity cards granted under CMCHIS.
It is not only Ramesh, who was unaware of CMCHIS, but many other labourers, vendors and other workers, who are eligible but do not know about the benefits of the scheme and have to shell extra amount for the treatment.
The scheme applies to 11 government and 70 private hospitals in the city, but many beneficiaries did not know that even private hospitals had such facility and had paid huge amounts for various treatments at private hospitals.
When contacted, the district in-charge of CMCHIS said that identity cards are being issued at the collectorate. For easy accessibility of people the names of all eligible individuals will be displayed at the CMCHIS website. However, the initial plan of linking Aadhar with the identity cards has not been executed yet.C
