Much-needed scheme: Letter to BS on govt's health protection scheme

One hopes that govt will give priority to the scheme, works out the nitty gritty and launches it from August 12 or latest by October 2

This is with reference to "No short-cuts to health" (February 5). The National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), dubbed Modicare/NAMOcare, announced in the Union Budget, if implemented well, will benefit millions of impoverished families. Providing a health cover of up to Rs 500,000 each to 100 million ‘poor and vulnerable families’ with 500 million individuals making up 40 per cent of the country’s population would be nothing short of a path-breaking social welfare measure. It should not matter much that the mega scheme was thought up by a right-wing government with an orientation to the market and big business.