Karnataka Pensioners to Get Cashless Health Cover of Up to ₹5 Lakh Under Sandhya Kiran Scheme

Karnataka has approved the Sandhya Kiran scheme for state government pensioners, family pensioners, and eligible dependents, as per The CNBC TV18 news report. It will provide cashless treatment cover of up to ₹5 lakh a year for an eligible family. 

About 4.93 lakh people are expected to be covered at the start. This includes 3.11 lakh state government pensioners below 70 years and their eligible dependents. 

Treatment at Empanelled Hospitals 

The scheme covers secondary, tertiary and emergency care at empanelled hospitals. The ₹5 lakh cover is on a family-floater basis and can be used by eligible members of the family. 

The scheme has been formulated under the Ayushman Bharat-Arogya Karnataka (AB-ArK) framework. The benefit packages and revised treatment rates under AB-ArK will also apply to Sandhya Kiran. 

Contribution by Pensioners 

Service pensioners will contribute 1.25% of their basic pension. Family pensioners will contribute 0.75% of their basic family pension. 

A service pensioner receiving a basic pension of ₹40,000 a month would contribute about ₹500 each month. A family pensioner with a basic family pension of ₹30,000 would pay around ₹225. 

Funding Structure 

The government expects contributions from beneficiaries to generate around ₹117 crore a year. The estimated annual treatment cost is ₹81.75 crore. 

Beneficiary contributions will account for 70% of the treatment cost, while the state government will fund the remaining 30%. 

The contribution rate is linked to utilisation. If use of the scheme's corpus crosses 85%, the contribution rate will automatically increase by 0.05 percentage point, or five basis points. 

Administration of the scheme 

The Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust will implement Sandhya Kiran. Registration, contribution collection, hospital-network management, cashless treatment and claims administration will be handled through the AB-ArK system. 

For eligible pensioners and dependents, the scheme provides an annual family cover of ₹5 lakh. Treatment will be available at empanelled hospitals under the packages and rates applicable through AB-ArK. 

Read More: Tamil Nadu to Increase Singapengal Scheme Loans by 25%; Reserve 30% of Loans for New Members! 

Conclusion  

The scheme sets the annual health cover at ₹5 lakh for eligible families. Pensioners will contribute based on their basic pension, while the state government will meet 30% of the estimated treatment cost. 

Disclaimer: This blog has been written exclusively for educational purposes. The securities mentioned are only examples and not recommendations. This does not constitute a personal recommendation/investment advice. It does not aim to influence any individual or entity to make investment decisions. Recipients should conduct their own research and assessments to form an independent opinion about investment decisions.   
 
Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.