Puducherry govt planning health insurance scheme

A health insurance scheme aimed at benefiting economically poor people would be introduced on a trial basis in Karaikal in the union territory, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayansamy said today.
Replying to the pleas made by members cutting across party lines in the territorial assembly, he said the government would bring under the health insurance scheme all the poor and the have-nots.
It would be first implemented in Karaikal in the next six months and depending on its success, the scheme would be extended to other regions, he added.
Earlier, members of ruling Congress, its ally DMK and opposition AIADMK highlighted the difficulties faced by poor patients in getting treatment in speciality hospitals for critical ailments.