National Health Service – Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana RSBY
On the 1st of April 2008, the Ministry of Labour and Employment stated that a National Health Service scheme, known as the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), would commence. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) does translate to National Health Service which the Government uses as a special programme of insurance protection for less well-off citizens and their families. By less well-off citizens the implication is that these people, from work sectors that are not distinguished, are below the poverty line. With the extremely high cost of health care, and to try and bring some kind of high-quality health care to the households that are below the poverty line, the goal of the scheme is to try and offer some kind of protection. Back in 2008, this scheme applied to twenty-five (25) states around India. In April 2015 the Ministry of Labour and Employment transferred the responsibility to the Ministry of Health. The different mixtures of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) are discussed in this article.
The Below Poverty Line Yardstick
Different economic yardsticks have been put in place by the Government of India to act as signpost guidelines to check and recognize citizens and their households that require some kind of Governmental support and assistance. The name given to this directive is Below the Poverty (BPL). Up to five (5) members of a family, from work sectors that are not distinguished, can benefit from the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) scheme with health insurance.
Undistinguished Employment Sectors
From the onset people who were recognized as Below the Poverty line were the citizens that the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) scheme focused on. Later the scheme opened up to people in undistinguished classifications of employment. Such as:
• 1. Authorised Railway Porters
• 2. Auto/ Taxi Drivers
• 3. Beedi workers
• 4. Domestic Workers
• 5. Mine workers
• 6. Rickshaw riders
• 7. Sanitation worker
• 8. Street Vendors
• 9. Welfare Boards’ registered building and other construction
• 10. Workers of MNREGA for the 15 days in the period of the financial year.
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) Features
Over time the Indian Government came up with different kinds of protection schemes for people who were classified as working below in what was considered below income categories. However, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, RSBY) has varied in many different ways. Such as:
• 1. Hospital Selection: Households that are below the poverty line can select between private and public hospitals.
• 2. Scheme Costs: For the costs of the insurance scheme they are shared between the State Government and the Central Government. The splits are twenty-five percent (25%) and seventy-five percent (75%) respectively on the insurance plan.
• 3. Hospital RSBY Incentives: All hospitals, including public, receive incentives based on the number of people they treat under the RSBY system.
• 4. NGOs and MFIs Payments: For helping at Below the Poverty Line RSBY households NGOs and MFIs will receive payment.
• 5. Annual Payments: To enable the Below the Poverty households to receive a high level of medical healthcare in hospitals the annual payment is Rs. seven hundred and fifty (750).
• 6. Biometric-Enabled Smart Cards: People in the scheme are issued with biometric-enabled Smart Cards which have especially been designed by IT specialists. These cards include fingerprints and photographs. The purpose of this is so that there can be no abuse of the system with only the real beneficiaries receiving the benefits. Also, beneficiaries can use this smart card in any other RSBY selected hospitals across India.
• 7. Each Household Enrollment: The premium payment will be paid to all household enrolments for the insurance.
Procedure for Registration
• 1. Electronic Lists Formats: For Below the Poverty Line registrations the households with eligibility details will be passed on to the insurance company, by the Government, in an electronic list format.
• 2. Household Eligibility Announcements: Below the Poverty Line lists, which will include all households that qualify, will be posted at registration stations in the village. These notices will include the location of the registration outlet and the date.
• 3. Registration Schedules: The insurance company will manage registration schedules with the district designated officials and registration schedules and dates will be advised.
• 4. IT Hardware: For printing of the smart cards, as well as the collecting of biometric data that includes members photographs and fingerprints, the registration stations will have IT services and hardware, such as printers, for the printing of the RSBY smart cards.
• 5. Mobile Registration Stations: Public schools, and other public places in villages, will be the kinds of locations where mobile registration stations are set up.
• 6. Smart Card Distributions: After the designated Government authority has completed the mandatory verification checks the RSBY smart card, complete with a plastic cover will be given to the beneficiaries.
• 7. Rs. Thirty (30) Payment: The RSBY smart card will be given to the beneficiary, along with an information pack that includes the scheme details and hospitals names that they can use, after the mandatory payment of Rs. thirty (30) ha been paid.
Policy Registration & Renewals
Annually the scheme begins on the 1st of May which means all the appropriate registration processes have to be completed in April and the smart cards handed out. The policy will expire one year later on the 30th of April. Should there be circumstances where cards are issued in later months, for example, June or July, the insurance cover will start there and then but the end date will still be the last day of April the following year.
For policy renewals, which means the policy is carried over into the next year, in a new smart card with again be issued in the month of April, to start in May, and will expire at the end of April in the following year. As with a policy registration, if for some reason the policy starts after May, such as June or July, the ending date will still be the end of April in the following year.
