NEW DELHI, Sept 12 (Askume) – India late on Wednesday expanded a government programme to provide annual health insurance coverage of 500,000 rupees ($6,000) per family to citizens aged 70 and above, helping Prime Minister Narendra Modi deliver on one of his big election promises.
The new scheme is expected to benefit an additional 60 million people, adding to Modi’s 2018 healthcare scheme that already covers more than 500 million citizens, according to a government statement.
Touted to be the world’s largest healthcare scheme, it offers free treatment for critical illnesses and provides an annual insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh to poor families.
The government said the new measure would apply to all citizens and is Modi’s latest move to improve a public health system struggling with a shortage of hospitals and doctors .
Despite these initiatives, India’s healthcare spending has remained below 2% over the past decade, one of the lowest globally.
(1 USD = 83.9730 Indian Rupees)
