Nagaland has become the first Indian state to provide cashless universal health coverage under the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme (CMHIS) for citizens not covered by Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY. This was announced by the Commissioner and Secretary of the Health department, Y Kikheto Sema, during a workshop held at The Lily Hotel in Guwahati. Kikheto informed the attendees that government employees are now eligible for insured amounts of INR 20 lakh per family per year under the CMHIS, while the general public can avail of insured amounts of INR 5 lakh per family per year.
The CMHIS has replaced the previous ‘MR Scheme’ for government employees from November 2022. The commissioner clarified that CMHIS (general) category is implemented in convergence with Ayushman Bharat PMJAY platform, while the CMHIS (EP) category is implemented in convergence with Central Government Health Scheme platform.
Kikheto stated that initially, only a few hospitals were frequented by patients from Nagaland, as the CGHS package rate was very low and many hospitals refused to provide treatment. However, a team comprising Nagaland Health Protection Society and officials of the Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) department have now worked out revised rates and enhanced incentives ranging from 30% to 60% above the CGHS rates to solve this issue. With more than 50% of patients from Nagaland coming to Guwahati for treatment of various ailments, Kikheto also assured that the empanelment of hospitals in Guwahati would be prioritized.
The workshop was attended by over 20 hospitals including several reputed hospitals in Guwahati. Kikheto further stated that the Nagaland government has never defaulted on payment of debt servicing to any financial institutions and that the payment of hospital bills and claims would be cleared within the turn-around-time of one month. The Health department, Kikheto added, will continue to work towards providing accessible, affordable, and universal healthcare services to all its citizens.
