BJP today said if voted to power it will introduce universal health insurance policy under which every Delhiite will be insured for a nominal sum of Rs 6 per day for unlimited access to state government's health infrastructure which will be modernised on a war-footing.
"Health needs to be a social movement. Once BJP comes to power, we will implement universal health insurance policy in Delhi in which for a nominal sum of Rs 6 per day, every Delhi citizen will be provided complete healthcare," said BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate Dr Harsh Vardhan.
On the third day of his 'Dus Din, Dus Iraade' campaign, he also attacked the Centre and Delhi's Sheila Dikshit government claiming that under them, the health infrastructure of the country and the city is in shambles.
"Under UPA governance, India has failed to achieve its commitments on health under the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and we are on the brink of international embarrassment when these come up for review in 2015.
"What good is health insurance if the hospitals remain the pitiable condition which they are in today thanks to the Sheila Dikshit government's focus on the rich. Long queues are visible every morning in the hospitals. The infrastructure of the hospitals is creaking," he said.
Vardhan said that the BJP will modernise on a war footing the hospitals of Delhi and fit them with state of the art equipment. The existing hospitals will be modernised and new ones will be built in areas not served by the public health system.
Speaking about the proposed insurance policy, Vardhan said that under the scheme, there will be no need to carry 'Health Cards', instead people have to register on-line which will generate an automatic number which would be good enough for each citizen to be enrolled.
"All these things will be overlooked by a Regulatory Commission which will not have any politician or bureaucrat but consists of experts from the medical fraternity and consumer activists," he said.
Explaining the ambitious project, Vardhan said that people will not need to queue up on given dates to pay their premiums. Online payment of premium will be possible. Under the scheme, unlimited number of check-ups for any condition will be provided.
"If government hospitals fail to deliver satisfactory services on any given day in the view of Regulator, citizens would be provided vouchers to visit private hospitals or clinics. This step will factor in accountability for hospital administrators," he said.
Vardhan promised that if his party comes to power, out-patient treatment facilities will be doubled in every government hospital. Large number of doctors and interns will be employed and their constant training and retraining will be monitored by the Regulator.
