Draft Speech of Hon’ble Chief Minister At the Launch of Chief Minister-giHakshelgiTengbang (CMHT)
My Cabinet Colleagues Honb’le Ministers
Honb’le MLAs
The Chief Secretary Manipur
Senior Officers of the Government
Medical Professors, Doctors, Nurses and ASHAs workers
Friends from Media
Ladies & Gentlemen
Today being the State-hood Day, it is a historic commemorative Landmark Day for the people of Manipur. Today’s date is therefore consciously chosen to launch this Program called ‘Chief Minister-giHakshelgiTengbang CMHT’. We felt that this historic Day is the Best Symbolic moment to dedicate a program to the People of Manipur that is going to impact their life in a very deep way. About 3 lakh families and a population of approximately 15 lakh are likely to be covered by this program.
Our scheme ‘HakshelgiTengbang’ aims to address a crucial and chronic cause of public suffering— that is burden of health care expenditure particularly among poor people. National surveys show that in India 3% to 6% population is pushed below poverty line due to medical expenditure. In otherwords, 3% to 6% population becomes poor due to the medical treatment burden. Public Healthcare is perhaps the most challenging issue all Governments are facing world over. In developed countries as well as in the developing nations the difficulties of affordable Healthcare have persisted and deepened. Our country too has been experimenting with public health care schemes and Government of India is still working on finding a feasible solution. While previous Govt of India schemes had very limited success, Central Govt is working on a new scheme.
As a result, most of State Governments have tried to come up with their own Health Protection Schemes. With this background, my Government has adopted Healthcare as the most critical challenge and ‘Chief Minister-gi Hakshelgi Tengbang’ is the ambitious and path-breaking program to address this problem.
Ladies & Gentlemen, very sadly, Manipuri people have one of the highest ‘Out of Pocket Health expenditures while seeking treatment in public and private hospitals. And, it is the poor and destitute in the State who bears the maximum of this burden. For example per patient national average of expenditure in public hospitals is about Rs 1600 while in Manipur a patient spends more that Rs 5600 in Government Hospital treatment. This is more than three times of national average. From my own personal experience, I have seen that medical treatment burden is causing perhaps the maximum distress among poor people. During ‘MeeyamgiNumit’ and ‘ChingiNumit’ Days I have seen that majority of people’s hardship is directly or indirectly rooted in healthcare expenditure.
Now Chief Minister-gi Hakshelgi Tengbang scheme will provide this critical health care support to poor people for hospitalization cases. AAY Card holders, Widows, Disabled and poor people will get Cashless medical treatment for seven critical diseases like cancer, kidney, liver, neo-netal, neuro, and burn cases. They will also get a hospitalization medical cover up-to Rs 50 thousand for other diseases.This Scheme will provide Cashless treatment benefitin Government hospitals like JNIMS, RIMS, District Hospitals and CHCs and also in CMHT empanelled private hospitals inside and outside the state.
The Beneficiaries may get themselves enrolled in the Enrollment Kiosks opened in nearby PHCs, CHCs and District Hospitals. They may take the help of the village ASHAs for enrolment. For poor category, the beneficiaries will be identified from the Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC). The scheme will consider even those families whose name is not in deprivation list in SECC data. If their names are not found in SECC data, CMHT Kiosk managers will refer their claims tothe concerned Deputy Commissioner (DC) through online platform for verification of their economic status.This scheme will be managed by an Implementation Support Agency (ISA) which is selected through a transparent and national competitive bidding method.
The most special aspect of our Scheme is its innovative features. Firstly, CMHT will have convergence with two Government of India programs—PM’s Jana Aushadhi Program and Free Diagnostic Program. And secondly, our CMHT Scheme will be a truly IT Platform driven scheme. From enrollment to verification and hospital claims and from billing to issuance of drugs and consumables, everything will be managed on IT based applications. There will be very minimal paperwork; most things will be done in paper-less fashion. Applicants will get mobile phone text alerts on their application status and claimed benefits status. All beneficiaries will be Adhaar mapped. At the time of hospitalization beneficiary’s biometric verification will be carried out based on his/her Adhaar database.
However any program is only as good as the sincerity of its implementers. CMHT’s success will depend on its key players ie the hospital management, doctors and ASHA workers. I am aware that Doctors and Nurses and ASHA workers are the special invitees of these functions as they are going to play the most crucial role in this scheme. ASHA workers will be the key in success of enrollment. On the other hand, the scheme requires Doctors to write Generic medicines only. Prime Minister’s Jana Aushadhi Program will provide Generic medicines only. Hence it’s my sincere appeal to Doctors’ fraternity to adopt this program by heart and write only Generic medicines in poor people’s interest. These Generic medicines are duly certified by Government of India Quality control agencies. Generic medicines of very good quality will be made available in the Jan Aushadhi Stores of all Government hospital.
At the end, I encourage and appeal all the implementers and officials and managers of this program to work hard and make this program successful.
Jai Hind