Health: The central government has decided not to extend the insurance scheme of INR 50 lakh for healthcare workers who succumb in the line of COVID-19 duty after March 24th, 2021.
The Health Ministry released a circular in March 2021 which stated that the scheme, announced by the Finance Minister as part of the COVID-19 relief package, concluded on March 24th, 2021. As on that day, only 287 claims had been processed.
According to the government, the scheme was supposed to provide insurance coverage to approximately 22 lakh health workers. This included safai karamcharis (sanitation workers), ward boys, nurses, ASHA workers, paramedics, technicians, doctors, and specialists. The scheme also covered workers in the private sector.
The health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, in a letter to the states on March 24th, 2021, wrote that while “the scheme has acted as a very effective safety net and has been able to provide relief to the healthcare workers who have lost their lives due to COVID-19,” it had to be closed going forward.
The letter clarified that all claims submitted as of midnight on March 24th, 2021 would be eligible for coverage under the scheme. Furthermore, an additional one-month window would be provided for the submission of all documents to the insurance company, in the case of eligible claims.
On April 18th, the Health Ministry issued a tweet saying they are considering a new scheme and are in talks with New India Assurance, but there has been no official government circular issued as yet confirming this.
This withdrawal of the scheme comes at a time when the country is fighting the deadliest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. While there is no official data on the number of frontline healthcare workers who have died in the line of duty, the Indian Medical Association claims that at least 739 MBBS doctors have died.
Read this article to know more about a day in the life of a health worker caring for COVID patients.