By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has hiked the health insurance cover, under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS), from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced on Friday.

The new insurance cover will come into effect from December 1, he said in an official release.

Under the CMCHIS, 1.58 crore families are covered for 1,027 procedures for Rs 1 lakh per annum and for 154 procedures for up to Rs 2 lakh per annum, P Uma Maheswari, Project Director, Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project, explained.

However, under the Pradhan Mandri Jan Arogya Yojana Scheme, which the TN scheme is linked from September, beneficiaries selected based on level of deprivation in rural regions and on occupation in urban regions get a cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per annum. “People who don’t fall into those categories are not eligible for the central scheme,” she said.

“The State decided to raise the cover under CMCHIS to Rs 5 lakh to ensure that all benefit equally, regardless of whether they are covered under the central health insurance scheme or not,” she added. Families covered under the scheme can utilise it without paying any fee, the CM said.