500 Million Indian citizens receive free health care

Categories:

• Politics

by Elaa Abdeltawab

Posted on February 6, 2019

The Indian government is launching a new health program called 'Modicare'. Modicare was introduced to fund 100 million families in India, that is around 500 million people, 40% of the Indian population. these families will be insured for health costs up to 500,000 Rupees per family per year.

How are these families selected for the Modicare?

These families are selected using the Socio-Economic Caste Census. This program selects the poorest families based on a number of factors and characteristics. Socio-Economic Caste Census tells exactly which households are the poorest based on the type of house, the profession of the adults in the families and the education level. The selected people will then be registered for Modicare. 

Most health care treatments will be covered by the government. All public hospitals can see which people are entitled to the free health care program.

How much will Modicare cost India?

The Modicare program is currently the world's biggest government-funded health care program according to Arun Jaitley (former Finance Minister). The Modicare will cost around $1.6 Billion tax money per year.

Why did the Indian government introduce Modicare?

According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi this program will be life-changing for India. One of the Major causes of poverty in India are medical costs as many Indian citizens cannot afford health care treatments which leads to major problems. To improve the economic situation in India, it will be necessary to ensure that people who can not afford health care treatments receive proper treatments to enhance the country's economy.