Bengal Govt extends Swasthya Sathi coverage to 55.5 lakh more government employees and volunteers

Kolkata, Sep 13: The West Bengal Government has extended the coverage of its Swasthya Sathi health insurance scheme, to include several more categories of the State Government employees. The health security scheme would now cover 55.5 lakh more government employees and volunteers associated with various State Government developmental programmes. The Swasthya Sathi health insurance scheme is one of the pet projects of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who wants health security to be prioritised for all those employed by the government, both permanently as well as part-time. She is in charge of the Health and Family Welfare Department. In the last few months, the State Government has gradually added ASHAs (accredited social health activists), ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme) employees and volunteers, members of self-help groups (SHGs), home guards, NVF (National Volunteer Force) volunteers, civic police volunteers, rural police volunteers, disasters management volunteers, members of panchayat offices, including the contractual, part-time and daily wage earners, part-time faculty and contractual employees of colleges and universities under the State Government, and the contractual, part-time and daily wage earners under a few other departments. Now, with this latest announcement, made via newspaper advertisements, Swasthya Sathi has come to include the Para teachers, Samprasarak/samprasarika of all Shishu Shiksha Kendras, Madrasa Shiksha Kendras and Madhyamik Shiksha Kendras, Contractual employees of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, State Rural Health Scheme and State Civic Health Scheme, ASHA supervisors, Doctors of State Child Health Scheme, Contractual homeopathic, ayurvedic and unani doctors and compounders, cleaners, other employees under State Urban Employment Scheme, Elected municipal representatives, Employees of various development authorities and civic local bodies, Contractual employees who are recruited in accordance with the specific approval of the State Finance Department and paid with money from the treasury of grants-in-aid, Teachers and non-teaching staff of primary schools, secondary schools and government-aided madrasah and their families. UNI