Govt provides health insurance to handicraft artisans

New Delhi, Apr 1 (UNI) The Governemnt has launched a comprehensive health insurance scheme for handicraft artisans across the country in collaboration with ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company.

Under the scheme, christened as 'Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana', up to four members of an artisan's family will be eligible for health insurance.

The scheme will cover all pre-existing diseases also apart from maternity expenses limited to first two child births. In addition, it will also cover death and disability due to accident to the artisans.

All crafts persons, male or female, between the age group of one day to 80 years will be eligible to be covered under the scheme.

''This unique insurance scheme will benefit the large section of the artisan population and aims at covering about 50,000 artisans in the first phase,'' Union Minister for Textiles Shankarsinh Vaghela said while launching it.

It is envisaged to financially enable the artisans' community to access the best of healthcare facilities in the country and will cover the artisans and his/her spouse and two children, he added.

The insured artisans and their families can avail treatment in any hospital covered under the scheme without having to pay any bill. In case, the treatment is availed of in a hospital not covered under the scheme, the expenditure will be reimbursed later.

The scheme also carries a personal accident cover of one lakh rupees in case of death or total and irrecoverable loss of any limb of the insured artisan. Artisans belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, below the poverty line and the north-eastern region will be required to contribute Rs 100 per year per family, while others will have to contribute Rs 200 per year per family.

Head of Government Solutions&Liabilities Insurance Group, ICICI Lombard Mr Bharathan K said the scheme offers the benefit of providing comprehensive cover to the artisans and also his family against unforeseen medical expenses.

UNI