PANJIM: In March and April 2018, the government paid a monthly premium of Rs 8.50 cr and Rs 6.63 cr respectively towards Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana (DDSSY). The last date for scheme enrolment for this year was July 31, 2018 and interestingly the scheme for these payments is valid only till August 31.
On Monday and Tuesday, there was a long queue of applicants at the DDSSY counter at the Panjim Health Centre. People who had rushed to the centre to apply for the scheme before the last date were shocked to realise that the policy was valid only for one month and that they will now have to visit the centre after August 31 to renew the policy.
A citizen, who had applied for the scheme on Tuesday, questioned the government’s rationale behind the cut-off date.
“What kind of insurance policy is this which provides cover just for one month? When enrolled, the policy must cover my life for a full year,” he said and questioned whether the government is paying the insurance premium for the whole year or just one month.
One of the heaviest component of the insurance policy is the GST. The government has till date paid Rs 120,49,00,000 to the insurance company of which Rs 17.21 crore was only the GST. In contrast, a scheme such as Mediclaim has no GST since the government pays the medical bills directly to the hospital.
In 2016-17, the government spent Rs 8.11 crore on mediclaim but has reduced the budget to Rs 400 crore for 2018-19.
