Government Health Insurance For Elderly

The details of the percentage of elderly people covered under Health Insurance in India are not available at central level as the same is not centrally maintained by Insurance Regulatory And Development Authority (IRDA). The total number of lives (including elderly people) covered under any type of Health insurance policies during the Financial Year 2015-16 was 35.89 crore which is approximately 30% of the India’s total population.

Government of India is implementing Senior Citizen Health Insurance scheme (SCHIS) for Senior Citizens of age 60 years and above, belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) and 11 other defined designated categories such as MGNREGA Workers, Construction Workers, Mine Workers, Licensed Railway Porters, Street Vendors, Beedi Workers, Rickshaw Pullers, Rag Pickers and Auto/ Taxi drivers with effect from 01.04.2016, as a top up scheme of RashtriyaSwasthyaBimaYojna (RSBY). The health coverage is uptoRs. 30,000/--per annum per senior citizen for treatment packages, over and above RSBY entitlement.

At present SCHIS is being implemented in 8 States namely Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh. 

The Population Division of United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in its 2015 report has projected the elderly population (60+age group) to be 19.4% in 2050 as per the details given below:-

Percentage of elderly aged 60 years and above
Year	2015	2030	2050
%	8.9	12.5	19.4

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare had launched. “National Programme for the Health Care of Elderly” (NPHCE) during 2010-11 with a view to provide dedicated health care facilities to the elderly population in the country through State Health Society (SHS). This is a health care scheme under which provisions have been made to establish comprehensive health care setup tuned to needs of the elderly people.  Following facilities are being provided under the Programme:

• Geriatric OPD, 30 bedded Geriatric ward for in-patient care, etc at Regional Geriatric Centres.

• Geriatric OPD and 10 bedded Geriatric Ward at District Hospitals.

• Bi-weekly Geriatric Clinic at Community Health Centres (CHCs).

• Weekly Geriatric Clinic at Primary Health Centre (PHCs).

• Provision of Aids and Appliances at Sub-centres

Central Government Health Scheme For Senior Citizens

        

Senior citizens and retired personnel who have worked in Central Government bodies are assured of their health care needs through the Central Government Health Scheme or CGHS. This scheme for pensioners provides medical assistance to retired central government officials along with their dependents, freedom fighters and widows of government officials. The CGHS Scheme also covers Delhi police personnel, retired judges of the Supreme Court, Parliament secretaries and their families.

Moreover, along with Ex–Governors and Ex–Vice Presidents of India, accredited journalists are also eligible to be covered under the Central Government’s Health Scheme. The Central Government Health Scheme initially started functioning in Delhi. After a few years, it spread to cities such as Allahabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Patna.

The Central Government Health Scheme offers health services through Allopathic and Homeopathic systems as well as through traditional Indian forms of medicine such as Ayurveda, Unani, Yoga and Siddha. These medical facilities are provided through dispensaries and polyclinics. Chief medical officers and medical officers operate these dispensaries and are responsible for the smooth functioning of the scheme.

The main components of the scheme are dispensary services including domiciliary care, specialist consultation facilities, X–ray, Electro Cardiogram (ECG), laboratory testing, hospitalization, purchase and distribution of medicines and provision of health education.