Further extending the ambit of its flagship scheme — Odisha Treatment Funds, the state government on Tuesday signed MoUs with six sophisticated private hospitals located outside the state.
The six hospitals are Escort Heart Centre, Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital and Ramkrishna Care Hospital in Raipur; Care Hospital, Apollo Hospital and SevenHills Hospital in Vishakhapatnam.
Earlier, the state government had signed similar MoUs with 14 state-based private and corporate hospitals for enabling poor people to avail treatment. These private hospitals included Kalinga, Aditya Care, Ayush, Apollo, Hi-Tech, KIMS and SUM Hospital here.
The health facility would be available to BPL families under Odisha State Treatment Fund (OSTF), officials said. Financial assistance of up to Rs. 3 lakh would be provided to eligible patients under OSTF. However, no assistance would be provided for reimbursement of the expenditure already incurred.
“This will greatly benefit the people of our State, and more particularly the people of KBK districts because of their proximity to Visakhapatnam and Raipur,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said.
Stating that demand on government hospital has increased after introduction of Odisha State Treatment Fund Scheme on December 15, 2011, Mr. Patnaik said poor people will get highly specialized treatment relating to heart, lungs, kidney and others.
The Odisha State Treatment Fund is a flagship scheme of Odisha Government launched in 2011. BPL patients and patients with annual income less than Rs. 40,000 in rural areas and less than Rs. 60,000 per annum in urban areas are eligible to get benefits under the scheme.