Image Source: Mumbai Live
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Government on Saturday, May 2, announced that all citizens in the state will be covered under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY). This makes Maharashtra the first state in the country to provide free and cashless insurance for its people amidst the COVID-29 crisis.
According to a report by the Free Press Journal, an announcement in this regard was made by state health minister Rajesh Tope on Friday, May 1.
So far, the MJPJAY was applicable only to the poor in the state. The scheme, at present, covers 85 per cent of the population who are yellow-and-orange ration card holders. In 14 farmer suicide-affected districts, this scheme also applied to white ration card holders After this announcement, it will cover the remaining 15 per cent, including government and non-government employees and white ration card holders.
Meanwhile, Tope also said that the state government has issued an order to put a cap on charges levied by hospitals on all patients, including those infected by COVID-19.
”As per the provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005, now the hospitals and healthcare centres cannot recover charges from patients at inflated rates,” he is quoted by the FPJ as saying.
It is now mandatory for hospitals and other healthcare centres to display details all types of charges prescribed at a prominent place and will also be duty-bound to explain the charges to the patients, as well as their relatives, the minister added.
Maharashtra has been the worst-hit by the global pandemic that it COVID-19. The state has reported the highest number of positive cases, as well as the highest number of deaths in the country.
