Kerala Swavalamban Yojana (Affordable Health Insurance Scheme for disabled people)
The Govt. of Kerala has announced one health insurance scheme named the Swavalamban Yojana which aims to provide affordable health insurance coverage to the disabled people and their family, who are financially backward. This is a great initiative with the joint participation of the Kerala state government and the New India Assurance Company which is a front running insurance provider affiliated to the Government and will be providing the health insurance policies. A health insurance policy is one of the major necessities these days and it will surely empower the differently abled beneficiaries of the scheme by providing them social as well as financial security.
Launch details
The Govt. of Kerala under the leadership of Hon’ble CM Pinarayi Vijayan held one Loan Mela programme which started from August, 2017. It was held at the Parasaala District of Kerala. This Swavalamban Yojana was also introduced and announced during this Loan Mela only. No fixed date of launch has been declared by the state government at this moment, however, it will get launched very soon. This Loan Mela was mainly organized to provide all sorts of financial and social assistance to the disabled population of the state.
Key features
- The Kerala State Govt. has already taken several initiatives so that all public facilities like government officers, tourism spots, public places may be made friendlier for the differently abled population in the state. This scheme is another step closer to provide them affordable health insurance.
- The main implementing agency of the Swavalamban Yojana will be the Kerala state Handicapped Persons’ Welfare Corporation which is an organization dedicated for the welfare of the disabled population in the state.
- Health insurance up to an annual cover of Rs. 25 lakh may be introduced under the Swavalamban Yojana which will be provided by the New India Assurance.
- The insurance policy will be applicable to the family of maximum four people, including the primary beneficiary who is differently abled. Parents, son/daughter, unmarried sister, etc. may be included in the policy. The expected monthly premium rate for the Swavalamban Yojana policy is Rs. 357.
- The health issues which will be covered under the scheme are – leprosy, complete blindness, low vision, mental retardation, mental illness, hearing impairment, cerebral palsy, Loco – Motor disability, etc.
Eligibility
This scheme is dedicated to the disabled person living in the state of Kerala who are financially backward and satisfy certain criteria.
- They should be a permanent resident of Kerala to avail this health insurance scheme.
- Persons who have disability rate of 40 % or higher are eligible to apply for this scheme.
- The maximum age limit to join the scheme is 65 years. There is no minimum cap of age limit.
- The beneficiaries of the scheme must have annual family income less than Rs. 3 lakh, to get full benefits of the policy.
Important documents
- A proof of identity which may be a Voter ID, Aadhar Card, Driving License, Passport, etc is required along with proof of address. The residential certificate of the applicant is mandatory.
- Apart from this, one should provide the Certificate of Disability, as per PWD Act of 1995 which confirms 40 % or higher disability.
- As this scheme is for low income groups, the applicant must provide the income certificate of the family along with the application form.
- 2 copies of passport photos for every family member, and the applicant must be attached with the health insurance application.
Application form
As the scheme is already announced, the application process will soon start. Eligible beneficiaries may collect the application forms from the designated centers and fill up the form along with all attached documents. Details of the scheme are described in this link: http://sjd.kerala.gov.in/DOCUMENTS/Downloadables/Application%20Forms/12162.pdf.
How to apply
- Eligible beneficiaries may collect the application form for Swavalamban Yojana from the Panchayat offices, block offices, government hospitals, municipality officers, etc. They may also download the same online from – http://sjd.kerala.gov.in/DOCUMENTS/Downloadables/Application%20Forms/12162.pdf and take a print out.
- Enter the credentials like name, address, type of disability, total number of family members, annual family income, etc. in the application form.
- Provide the names, relation to the primary applicant, age, gender of the family members. The photographs of the main applicant as well as co-applicants should be pasted in the form.
- The application form should be signed by the applicant along with certification of disability by the concerned authority.
- On submission of this application form along with supporting documents, a counter part of the filled in application will be given back. Forms to be submitted at ICDS offices.
Budget
In the budget for the financial year 2016 – 2017, a total of Rs. 17.5 crore has been sanctioned for the implementation of Swavalamban Yojana. An administrative sanction of Rs. 3.57 crore is also being made to include 1 lakh applicants in first phase of registration for the scheme.
As per recent government data, Kerala has more than 7.61 lakh disabled population out of which the percentage of female population is 48.19 % and the rest 51.81 % is male. The increasing rate of disabled population has triggered the need to have a stable and well organized health insurance policy, specially dedicated to the disabled sections.
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