Union Minister Bharati Pravin Pawar told Lok Sabha on Friday that over 1,000 claims have been settled and paid till August 4 under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19.
In a written reply, the minister of state for health said on March 30 last year the scheme was launched to provide comprehensive personal accident cover of Rs 50 Lakh to 22.12 lakh healthcare providers, including community and private health workers, who may have been in direct contact and care of coronavirus patients and could be at risk of being impacted by this.
Pawar further said, on account of the extraordinary situation, private hospital staff, volunteers, local urban bodies, and contract, daily wage and ad-hoc outsourced staff requisitioned by state, central hospitals and autonomous hospitals of the centre, states, union territories, AIIMS, institutes of national importance, and hospitals of central ministries specifically drafted for the care of COVID-19 patients were also covered under the scheme.
Through an insurance policy from New India Assurance Company Limited the scheme is being launched, a public sector company under the Union finance ministry’s department of financial services, she said.
The minister added that “1,016 claims have been settled and paid as on August 4, 2021”. Pawar said, the officials of the health and finance ministries of states and UTs are regularly reviewing the execution of the insurance scheme. It was noted during the reviews that in some cases payment of claims was getting delayed on account of receipt of incomplete claim documents or delay in receipt of documents from states and Uts, she added.
Therefore, it was decided to further modernize and simplify the process of settlement of claims to ensure expedite payment to claimants, Pawar said. A new system of claim settlement has been implemented with effect from May 28, according to which, claim papers are now being observed by district collectors, she informed.
Pawar in her reply said, on the basis of certificates furnished by district collectors and countersigned by state nodal officers, the insurance company is mandated to make payment to claimants within 48 hours.
