NSRLM, PMJAY ink MoU on health sector

Nagaland State Rural Livelihoods Mission (NSRLM) in collaboration with the State Health Agency for Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (SHA/AB-PMJAY) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly work together in ensuring the shared goals of universal health coverage for rural households in Nagaland through PMJAY (health insurance) scheme.
This was stated by Chief Operating Officer-Programs (COO-P), NSRLM, M. Rollan Lotha during the orientation and hands-on-training on “Beneficiary Identification System (BIS)” for the district coordinator-MIS, block program managers and data entry operators from district and blocks from March 16-18 in Kohima.
The COO-P stated that the State Mission will play pivotal role of sensitization and mobilization of the rural community through its rich network of social capital, Community Cadres along with ASHA workers in the villages.
He said that the initiative was to ensure that no one suffers from financial hardships or impoverishment due to high medical expenditure for hospitalizations or unable to access medical care on account of unaffordability. He further said that the joint venture was to bring about tremendous change in the lives of the rural populace and increased enrolment under PMJAY.
State Nodal Officer & Joint Director, SHA/H&FW, Dr. Kika Longkumer gave a brief note on PMJAY. He stated that Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) was a health insurance scheme which aims to accelerate India’s progress towards universal health coverage, wherein, over 2.33 lakh families in Nagaland have been covered under the Scheme till date.
He informed that the scheme provides free treatment of up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year, without any cap on family size and age and no restrictions on pre-existing conditions, covering around 1664 treatment packages including child delivery to cancer treatment from any empanelled private or public hospitals within Nagaland or anywhere in the country. To access the benefit, a patient has to be admitted in the hospital, except in a few treatment packages like day care dialysis, chemotherapy session, etc.
He said that OPD services were not covered under this scheme.
As pre the MoU, SHA AB PM-JAY and NSRLM will jointly foster BIS services for increased enrolment in all the villages through the SHGs and their Federations and Community Cadres.
State Program Managers (FI)-NSRLM, Rajuselie Lhousa and State Program Managers (MIS)-NSRLM, Renvungo Murry jointly facilitated the training.
Alongla, Operations Manager; Yanger Sanglir, Technical Consultant; Neitshope Sekhamo, Data Coordinator; and Seyievito Denny Kin, Technical Coordinator were the resource persons from SHA.