The government has launched a new health insurance scheme aimed at families below the poverty line. Finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech said that this scheme will offer a health cover of up to Rs 1 lakh per family and for senior citizens in age group of 60 years and above, a top-up of Rs 30,000 will be available additionally.
At present, India only has the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) was envisaged to provide health insurance coverage to Below Poverty Line families. Its beneficiaries are entitled to hospitalisation coverage of up to Rs 30,000 for most diseases.
