With a few days left to the new year, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has reiterated the government’s commitment to establish a National B40 Protection Scheme with an initial fund size of RM2 billion.

Among the 36 illnesses covered by the scheme include AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, bacterial meningitis, blindness, deafness, cancer, heart attack and major renal failure.

Effective Jan 1, the scheme, first announced in the tabling of Budget 2019, would benefit some 4.1 million individuals with low income or B40 households.

“The scheme will provide free medical coverage to qualified recipients against 36 critical illnesses.

“Recipients will receive payment for up to RM8,000, with a disbursement over a period that will be announced,” said Lim in a statement today.

“The scheme also gives daily payments as income replacement in the event of hospitalisation for up to 14 days at RM50 per day or RM700 per year,” he added.

Based on its initial fund size, the scheme will provide targeted recipients comprising individuals between the ages of 18 and 55 with five years of medical coverage.

In order to qualify, Lim said online registration and customer support services will be in operation from March 1 and recipients are not required to undergo a medical examination.

All qualified recipients under the scheme will be notified through text messages and he added that further information on the mechanism and implementation of the scheme will be disclosed when it is officially launched in early 2019.