Swasthya Sathi - A Trustable Companion For Bringing The Best Treatments

Swasthya Sathi is a special health scheme launched by the West Bengal government on 30 th December 2016. The aim of this scheme is to provide good quality treatment to people of all classes so that they don’t need to compromise on the quality of treatments. Irrespective of the age group any citizen can include their name to get health coverage. The scheme is completely funded by the state government and it will cover medical expenses up to Rs five lakh per year per family. It is completely cashless as well as paperless and can be accessed with the help of a smart card. Almost 2 crores of families have been covered themselves with this health coverage and almost 2260 hospitals have been empanelled to provide treatments with the help of this card. Any residents of West Bengal can be provided with the benefits of this scheme. Only those who are enlisted in the other government sponsor health insurance scheme and those who are given medical allowances will be excluded from Swasthya Sathi. Otherwise, it is also open to all. 

The family includes in the scheme of Swasthya Sathi will receive a smart card. They will be given this card on the day of their enrollment. This will carry all the necessary information about the insured family members. This information includes their phone number, photograph, biometrics and SECC ID. being completely based on IT platforms, the management of the scheme is totally paperless. Therefore it is very easy to use also. There are a large number of government and private hospitals accepting these Swasthya Sathi cards as there are no bars. It is very helpful to those people who are not economically strong to get quality treatments. The problem of getting health services is quite serious in rural areas. The introduction of this card really helps rural people to get the best quality treatments without sending their money. 

The Swasthya Sathi scheme is particularly helpful for those who do not have the ability to carry personal health insurance plans. The health insurance plans available in the market are quite expensive so it is impossible for poor people to go for such expensive plans. In most cases, they do not get proper treatment when they fell ill due to lack of money. The card will provide a lot of benefits to those people. 

Features of the Swasthya Sathi scheme

1. All the hospitals irrespective of whether they are private or government will accept this card. 
2. All the treatments and procedures are 100% pre-authorized within 24 hours. 
3. Before the discharge of the patients, the e-health records are updated properly. 
4. Not only through the cards. One can avail of these schemes with the use of a mobile as there is an app named Swasthya Sathi mobile app. 
5. If the card gets blocked, the beneficiaries will be informed with the help of an SMS.
6. Swasthya Sathi online portal is available to express your grievance if you experience any problems or if you have any complaints regarding the services provided to you. 
7. Normally 30 days are taken in order to settle down the claim reimbursements.
8. Getting the treatments is quite easy and hassle-free without spending a huge amount of money. 

The coverage of the Swasthya Sathi card is up to 5 lakh for each family. Even if the beneficiaries are suffering from any pre-existing diseases they will also be covered in this scheme. No matter whether the family is large or small the coverage is the same for all. There is no financial burden on the beneficiary families as the entire premium is paid by the state government.