Over 1.8 lakh people across the State have undergone surgeries under the Kalaignar Insurance Scheme for Life Saving Treatments till now, State Health Minister M.R.K. Paneerselvam said on Sunday.
About Rs.484 crore has been paid to the hospitals towards performing the surgeries, Mr. Paneerselvam said, while presiding over a function organised to mark the first anniversary of the implementation of the scheme in Tiruchi.
Terming the scheme a boon for beneficiaries both in rural and urban areas, Mr. Paneerselvam said the scheme had saved the lives of several people who had got access to advanced health care in empanelled hospitals through this scheme.
Complimenting the officials of the health and revenue departments and empanelled hospitals for the successful implementation of the scheme, the Heath Minister said the scheme was extremely beneficial to the poor sections of society who did not have the means to foot the bill for surgeries.
Smart cards
He said smart cards issued under the scheme had been distributed to over 1.3 crore people across the State.
The introduction of 108 emergency ambulance services by the State government had ensured timely treatment to patients, the Minister said.
Stating that the ruling DMK government had successfully implemented various welfare measures over the past four years, he said a sum of Rs. 1,000 crore had been earmarked for the construction of additional buildings and renovation works in government hospitals across the State. Funds to the tune Rs. 600 crore had been allocated for purchase of equipment for government hospitals, he added. He claimed that Tamil Nadu was in the vanguard of organ donation.
State Transport Minister K.N. Nehru said the Health Department had successfully checked the spread of dengue and swine flu.
District Collector T. Soundiah said over four lakh smart cards had been issued to people under the Kalaignar Insurance Scheme.
MLAs Anbil Periyasamy, M. Rajasekaran, A. Soundarapandian and K.N. Sekaran, and Mayor S. Sujatha spoke on the occasion.
