Home Minister V.S. Acharya launched the Manipal Arogya Card Scheme 2010 here on Monday by issuing the first card to a beneficiary.
Dr. Acharya said that the State Government had decided to extend the Vajpayee ArogyaSri Scheme, which was presently being implemented in five districts of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, to the entire State.
When the scheme would be launched in Udupi district, the Manipal University should become a partner in it. Udupi district was having the lowest infant and maternal mortality rates in the country.
The rapid stride the district had made in healthcare sector was not only due to Government hospitals but also private ones, he said.
The Manipal Arogya Card 2010 scheme would benefit poor people as it offered a lot of concessions in the hospitals coming under the Manipal group. “I am pleased to launch the 10th edition of the Manipal Arogya Card Scheme,” Dr. Acharya said. Pro-Chancellor of Manipal University H.S. Ballal said that by paying a small amount, any person could become a member and avail of the healthcare facilities.
Interested persons could become members from June 2 to July 26. The scheme, started in 2001, had grown steadily and now had over one lakh members, he said. The scheme offered free consultations with any specialist/super-specialist doctor any number of times during the year for outpatients.
There was a 20 per cent discount on diagnostics and laboratory investigations, a 10 per cent rebate on medicines purchased from the hospital pharmacy with prescriptions and a flat 25 per cent concession on the inpatient bill (excluding consumables) for any number of times during the year, Dr. Ballal said. Chancellor of Manipal University Ramdas M. Pai, Vice-Chancellor K. Ramnarayan and CEO of Manipal Health Systems Rajen Padukonewere present.
Scheme
Manipal Arogya Card is a unique scheme in which the discounts on treatment can be availed on pre-existing diseases as well. The card is priced at Rs. 200 for an individual and Rs. 450 for a family. Applications for the scheme are available at all networked hospitals under Manipal Health Systems and Syndicate Bank branches in Udupi, Mangalore, Shimoga, Uttara Kannada, Davangere, Chitradurga, Chikmagalur and Kodagu, and Kannur and Kasaragod districts in Kerala. For details, call 0820-2571967/9243531639.
