Maharashtra offered its citizen free insurance schemes during the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 and became the first state to do so
Maharashtra state government issues order that patients will receive free treatments in government hospitals across the state from August 15. The hospitals will not levy any extra charges on patients.
State Health Minister Tanaji Sawant on August 3 had announced that treatments in all Government hospitals will be provided free of cost and its expenses will be borne by the state government.
Under Right to Health (Article 21), treatments will be free in Primary Health Centres, Rural Hospitals, Women’s Hospitals, District General Hospitals, Upazila Hospital, Super Specialty Hospitals, and Cancer Hospitals. This decision of free of cost treatments was taken during the cabinet meeting, Sawant had said.
Cancer hospitals in Nashik and Amravati will also offer free treatments.
These free facilities will be made available at a total of 2,418 hospitals and medical centres run under the state government. This scheme will enable over 25 million people to avail free of cost treatments in these medical facilities.
However, this scheme does not apply to any hospital or medical college under the Medical Education department.
During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Maharashtra announced free health insurance scheme for the people of the state. In doing so, Maharashtra became the first state to offer free insurance protection. All the citizens would be protected under the state government’s health scheme of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY).
To apply for the scheme, citizens must have their ration card and domicile certificate.