In case of medical emergencies, health insurance is the best way to protect yourself and your family against expensive hospital bills. Over the past decade, medical inflation has skyrocketed, increasing the cost of private healthcare significantly and making treatment unaffordable for large sections of society. Fortunately, the Central and State Governments in India have introduced a large number of health schemes for the citizens and their families so they can get treatments at a low cost. In this article, we have compiled a list of the health insurance plans for families by the Indian government that citizens can make use of:
Government family health insurance schemes are special health policies introduced by the government to provide free or low-cost healthcare coverage for people. Here are some of the best health insurance plans for families by Indian government:
The AB-PMJAY is a government scheme launched in 2018 jointly by the Central and State Governments to provide free healthcare coverage for individuals and families who have a low income. The PMJAY health scheme provides a total sum insured of ₹5 lakh per year, for each family registered under the scheme. With more than 50 crore registered beneficiaries, AB-PMJAY is one of the largest health schemes in the world. Beneficiaries can seek treatment under any empanelled hospital under this scheme.
The PMSBY is a scheme launched by the Central Government to provide extremely low-cost insurance for accidents to Indian citizens. This government scheme offers coverage of ₹2 lakh in case of loss of limbs or ₹1 lakh for loss of an eye for only ₹12 per year, for each member of the family. Citizens from the ages of 18 to 70 are eligible for Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana.
The ESIS health scheme was launched by the government in the year 1950 to provide health coverage to employees and their families. This health plan was introduced by the government of India to provide coverage to employees against sickness, temporary or permanent disability, life-threatening diseases, etc. There are more than 3 crore registered beneficiaries under this scheme. The beneficiaries and their families can seek treatment at ESI centres across all India.
The UHIS is a health scheme launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2003 to provide affordable healthcare to the poorer sections of society, especially for families that are below the poverty line. This health scheme provides coverage of ₹30,000 to each member of the family and covers medical costs, room rent, consultation fees, etc. The premiums for this plan range from ₹300 to ₹730 depending on the number of members in a family.
Launched by the government in the year 2007, the AABY scheme provides coverage to low-income individuals in India between the ages of 18 to 59 years of age. This scheme provides cover for death from natural causes, disability, and accidental death. This scheme also offers a scholarship of ₹100 each month for up to 2 eligible students in a family studying between classes 9th to 12th.
The CMCHIS is a state-level health scheme launched by the Tamil Nadu government. All individuals or families that have an annual income of less than ₹75,000 are eligible to apply for this scheme. The beneficiaries can claim medical expenses up to ₹5 lakh under this scheme for a wide variety of medical treatments.
The Awaz Health Insurance Scheme was launched by the Kerala government in the year 2017. This particular health scheme is aimed at providing health coverage to the inter-state labourers working in Kerala and their families. The policy offers a maximum sum insured of ₹15,000 to the beneficiaries and a death benefit of ₹2 lakh to the family members of the deceased policyholder.
This is a scheme launched by the Rajasthan government to provide healthcare coverage to all the rural residents in the state. There is no upper age limit for the policy and the beneficiaries can get cashless treatment at empanelled hospitals. The Bhamashah Swasthya Bima Yojana provides coverage of ₹30,000 for medical expenses and ₹3 lakh for critical illness cover.
The KASP is a health scheme launched by the Kerala government that provides a total health coverage of ₹5 lakh for registered beneficiaries and their families. The Kerala government aims at providing coverage to approximately 42 lakh low-income families through this scheme. In order to enrol under this scheme, the eligible candidates have to present their income certificates and Aadhaar cards.
The RSBY was launched by the Ministry of Labour and Employment to provide healthcare facilities to low-income employees and labourers working in the unorganised sector. The RSBY plan provides coverage to the policyholder and up to 5 members of their family. The health scheme offers a total coverage of ₹30,000 under the scheme.
The Gujarat government launched the Mukhyamantri Amrutum Yojana in the year 2012 to cater to the healthcare needs of the poorer sections of Gujarat’s population. This health scheme offers a sum insured of up to ₹3 lakh to the beneficiaries and all their family members. The registered beneficiaries under this scheme can seek treatment at government, private, and not-for-profit hospitals for their medical issues.
Some important government health schemes for families launched by the government are:
AB-PMJAY
RSBY
PMSBY
ESIC
As a general rule, the premiums for government health plans are free or extremely low cost, as they are aimed at providing low-cost healthcare services to the citizens.
No, a sum insured of only ₹5 lakh may not be enough when it comes to the treatment of critical illnesses or diseases that require prolonged hospitalisation.
Yes, it is recommended that you buy a private family floater health insurance for yourself and your family as the coverage offered under government health schemes may not be enough to cover all of your medical costs.
In a situation like this, you will have to pay for the remaining medical expenses out of your own pocket. You can avoid this by getting a family floater health plan from Bajaj Markets.