Implementation of the government’s flagship medical insurance scheme Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yogana (DDSSY) has been deferred from August 15 to September 1 with CM Laxmikant Parsekar stating that insurance cards are not ready.
The government now faces an uphill task of meeting the self-imposed deadline again. It has received around 1,38,000 applications under the scheme but only 40,000 cards have been printed so far. With only 5,000 cards being printed per day, covering the entire lot of applicants appears to be highly unlikely. Interestingly, with little over 1.3 lakh applications received, not even half of Goa’s families have been covered. Empanellment of hospitals remains a major issue. Till now only 24 private hospitals have been empanelled, while govt is still in the process of including more in the list. Besides, procedures are yet to be put in place at various empanelled hospitals. The scheme doesn’t entail people to a green channel for treatment. There is a need for special counters to be put in place to facilitate people seeking treatment under the scheme.
Immediate implementation of the scheme would mean govt hospitals will have to start charging those people who are not covered under the scheme. Govt’s move to open all 447 interventions to private hospitals is still being opposed by GMC doctors. A lot of work needs to done and systems put in place if the much-talked about DDSSY is to have a smooth launch.
