NE NEWS SERVICE
ELURU (WEST GODAVARI), JAN 3
The YSR Congress Government led by the Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched Arogyasri programme here on Friday.
Ever since the Jagan took the mantle as Chief Minister after getting absolute majority in the assembly elections, he is striving hard to bring revolutionary changes in the state through numourous welfare schemes.
As already announced, Jagan launched the pilot project of Arogyasri and also released the Quick Response code (QR) cards.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said Arogyasri has been extended to cover 2,059 diseases, which was earlier limited to 1,059 diseases and it would be applicable to all medical bills which exceed Rs 1,000.
This is the second programme being launched by the government in the New Year, the first one being the merger of APSRTC into the government wherein over 51,000 employees have benefited.
The Arogyasri scheme was completely neglected by the previous TDP government. All cancer ailments would be covered under the scheme from February 1. Chicken Kunya, sun stroke, malaria and typhoid have also been included under the scheme.
Rs 5 lakh is income ceiling to avail medical coverage
The Chief Minister said that as promised before the elections, the scheme would be applicable to all families whose annual income is below Rs 5 lakhs. A total of 1.42 crore cards would be issued and all of them would have QR code containing all the details of the scheme. Village Secretariats have been entrusted with the responsibility of issuing the cards.
Each Asha worker would be attached to 300 to 350 houses and they would be attached to the village secretariats. Over 150 super-speciality hospitals in Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore have been brought under the purview of the scheme from November 1 last year and financial assistance is being provided since December 2.
An amount of Rs 225 per day or Rs 5,000 is being provided for post-surgery care. The Chief minister said he had during his padayatra seen children who were born deaf for whom it would cost Rs 6 lakhs for an operation. Earlier, only one ear used to be operated upon, but now we are getting both the ears operated for which it costs Rs 9 lakh, but still we are getting it done.
From January 1, the government is ensuring that all the government hospitals in the state are equipped with 510 varieties of medicines which are of high quality and it will be ensured that all the hospitals maintain WHO standards. Patients who are on dialysis every month are being given a pension of Rs 10,000 and it would be extended to Thalassemia, Himophilia and Sikil Cell patients from February 1.
A pension of Rs. 5,000 would also be provided to patients of Elephantiasis, paralysis and those suffering from muscular dysfunction. Leprosy patients would get a pension of Rs 3,000 from February 1. Sanitary workers in hospitals used to get a salary of Rs 8,000 which would be enhanced to Rs 16,000 and all the 5,000 primary health centres in the state would be upgraded.
YSR Kanti Velugu programme would be taken up from February 1 for six months which would include eye tests, operations and provision of spectacles. Research centres would be established at Palasa and Markapuram for the benefit of those suffering from kidney ailments and the work would begin at the centres in a month.
Sincere efforts are being made to set up medical colleges in Markapuram, Pidugurala, Machilipatnam, Paderu, Vizianagaram, Eluru and Pulivendula for which tenders would be called for in six weeks.The Chief Minister said that the government is making all-out efforts to see that the programmes being implemented reach all sections of people.
