more-inThe Awaz health insurance scheme, rolled out by the State government in 2017, has hit a roadblock in the district, thanks to guest labourers’ lack of awareness about claiming free insurance benefits after availing treatment at private hospitals. The delay in identifying a competent agency as insurance service provider for the four-month-old scheme is said to be playing spoilsport. Figures available with the department show that 1,55,595 guest labourers in the State possess bio-metric cards to claim free insurance benefits. An officer attached to the Labour Commissioner’s Office said that the cashless hospitalisation facility available at government hospitals had benefited hundreds of bio-metric card holders in the State. The enrolment process is going on to cover the maximum number of guest labourers in the unorganised sector, he said, adding that a bio-metric card would also serve the purpose of an identity card.

Source: The Hindu February 26, 2018 20:15 UTC