Various Health Insurance Schemes in Offing in Karnataka

Sharing details with people, Mr. U T Khader, Karnataka Minister for Health and Family Welfare, stated “The state government will pay Rs. 25,000 for treatment, without waiting for bill to be settled. The payment covers for first 48 hours of the accident. This insurance scheme is to come in handy for students and people who frequently travel in the state.” 

Government plans to set up Bike Ambulance/First Response Unit (FRU) in the state. Acting as a rapid responder bike ambulance will provide services during emergencies such as accidents, fire accidents, heart attacks and poisoning.

Divulging details of the plan, Mr. Khader said “As the typical big ambulance takes 30 to 45 minutes to reach a patient, we are launching bike ambulance to reach patients in 10 minutes and reduce deaths due to road accidents. First-aid and medical care during ‘Platinum 10 Minutes’ is paramount to save life of an accident victim. We felt the need for launching Bikes Ambulance after looking at how pizzas are delivered within 20 minutes.”

Bikes always score higher than big ambulances when it comes to driving on small streets and beating heavy traffic in large urban areas, where it would be tough to move vehicles like ambulances through crowds.

The government will need to shell out around Rs 70lakh. Costing Rs 1.50 lakh, each bike will come fitted with crucial medical equipments, said Mr. PS Vastrad, Karnataka Commissioner, Health and Family Welfare Department.

The plan is to deploy 21 bike ambulances in Bengaluru, followed by 1 each in the corporations of Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalburgi, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharawad, Davangere, Tumkuru, Vijayapura and Shimogga.  GVK–EMRI, an NGO has been roped in the project, as it has a past experience in providing ambulance services through Arogya Kavacha-108 in Karnataka.

Source: This news was published on April 15, 2015 in thehindubusinessline.com under the title: Karnataka to launch health insurance scheme.