The Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) has been set up vide Resolution No. F-7-2/96-Fin-II dated 13/1/1997 and registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, as a Society. The RAN was set up to provide financial assistance to patients, living below poverty line and who are suffering from major life threatening diseases, to receive medical treatment at any of the super speciality Hospitals/Institutes or other Government hospitals. The financial assistance to such patients is released in the form of 'one-time grant', which is released to the Medical Superintendent of the Hospital in which the treatment has been/is being received.
The RAN is operationalized through four windows, detailed below:
(i) Revolving Funds have been set up in 12 Central Government Hospitals/Institutions located all over India for providing financial assistance for treatment upto Rs. 2 lakh.
(ii) Financial assistance is provided from RAN Headquarters for cases referred by Government hospitals/institutions, which do not have a Revolving Fund and for cases referred by 12 Government hospitals/institutions with Revolving Funds for assistance exceeding Rs. 2 lakh.
(iii) State Illness Assistance Fund set up in all States/UTs (with Legislature) except Meghalaya and Nagaland. Grants-in-aid to States/UTs is released to the extent of 50% of the contributions made by the State Governments/UTs to the State Fund/Society subject to a maximum of Rs. 5 crore to States with larger number and percentage of population below poverty line viz. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and Rs. 2 crore to other States/UTs. Funds to the States/UTs are released on submission of utilization certificate and list of beneficiaries in respect of funds released to them earlier.
(iv) Health Minister's Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF) within RAN which has been established as a separate Corpus Fund, and is also managed by the Managing Committee and Technical Committee of RAN. An amount of Rs. 100.00 crore has been placed in the Corpus Fund and the earning from the Corpus Fund accrued out of interest is utilized for providing financial assistance to cancer patients through 27 Regional Cancer Centres (RCC) located all over India. Revolving Funds have been set up in these RCCs by placing an amount upto Rs. 50 lakh for providing financial assistance for treatment upto Rs. 2 lakh. Cases involving expenditure over and above Rs. 2 lakh, are referred to the Ministry. Funds to the RCCs are released on submission of utilization certificate and list of beneficiaries in respect of funds released to them earlier.
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