The details of the
percentage of elderly people covered under Health Insurance in India are not
available at central level as the same is not centrally maintained by Insurance Regulatory
and Development Authority (IRDA). The total number of lives
(including elderly people) covered under any type of Health insurance policies
during the Financial Year 2015-16 was 35.89 crore which is approximately 30% of
the India’s total population.
Government
of India is implementing Senior Citizen Health Insurance scheme (SCHIS) for
Senior Citizens of age 60 years and above, belonging to Below Poverty Line
(BPL) and 11 other defined designated categories such as MGNREGA Workers,
Construction Workers, Mine Workers, Licensed Railway Porters, Street Vendors,
Beedi Workers, Rickshaw Pullers, Rag Pickers and Auto/ Taxi drivers with effect
from 01.04.2016, as a top up scheme of RashtriyaSwasthyaBimaYojna (RSBY). The
health coverage is uptoRs. 30,000/--per annum per senior citizen for treatment
packages, over and above RSBY entitlement.
At present SCHIS is being implemented in 8 States
namely Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and
Uttar Pradesh.
The Population Division
of United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in its 2015 report
has projected the elderly population (60+age group) to be 19.4% in 2050 as per
the details given below:-
Percentage of elderly aged 60 years and above
|
Year
|
2015
|
2030
|
2050
|
%
|
8.9
|
12.5
|
19.4
|
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare had launched. “National
Programme for the Health Care of Elderly” (NPHCE) during 2010-11 with a view to
provide dedicated health care facilities to the elderly population in the country through State Health
Society (SHS). This is a health care scheme under which provisions have been
made to establish comprehensive health care setup tuned to needs of the elderly
people. Following facilities are being provided
under the Programme:
·
Geriatric OPD, 30 bedded Geriatric ward
for in-patient care, etc at Regional Geriatric Centres.
·
Geriatric OPD and 10 bedded Geriatric
Ward at District Hospitals.
·
Bi-weekly Geriatric Clinic at Community
Health Centres (CHCs).
·
Weekly Geriatric Clinic at Primary
Health Centre (PHCs).
·
Provision of Aids and Appliances at
Sub-centres
The Minister of State (Health and Family
Welfare), SmtAnupriya Patel stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha
here today.
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MV/LK