National Health Fund (RAN) Scheme

25.04.2024

National Health Fund (RAN) Scheme

Why in the  news?                                                                                                                    

Recently, the Delhi High Court filed a case regarding granting of financial assistance under the Centre's Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) scheme, stating that the income limit for claiming benefits is prima facie "extremely low".

Important points:

• Delhi resident Suresh Kumar Raghav sought financial assistance of around ₹9 lakh under the umbrella scheme for his second kidney transplant due to chronic kidney disease.
• The high court noted that he had earlier received assistance of about ₹6 lakh under RAN for a failed transplant in April 2023 and had been informed that such assistance under the scheme was given only once, and that he did not meet the eligibility criteria. Did not complete.
• Fixing the next hearing of the case on July 4, the high court said, “Issue notice to the Government of India, AIIMS and Suresh Kumar Raghav.

About Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) Scheme:

• The umbrella scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) is a central sector scheme.
• It is designed to provide financial assistance to poor patients living below the poverty line.
• Under the new umbrella scheme of RAN, the (monthly) income limit for benefit is ₹1,571 for rural areas and ₹1,605 for urban areas
• RAN provides financial assistance for treatments like organ transplant, cancer treatment and other vital procedures.
• It provides State/UT wise lump sum financial assistance to poor patients living below poverty line and suffering from life threatening diseases related to heart, kidney, liver, cancer etc. for treatment in any super specialty government hospital/institution.
• Under this scheme, assistance is provided to eligible patients in the form of a lump sum grant.

Components of National Health Fund Scheme:

National Health Fund (RAN):

• Financial assistance for treatment of life-threatening diseases related to heart, kidney, liver etc. in Government hospitals/institutions with super specialty facilities; (Maximum financial assistance is Rs 15 lakh)

Health Minister's Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF):

• Financial assistance for cancer treatment in Regional Cancer Centers (RCCs)/Tertiary Care Cancer Centers (TCCCs) and State Cancer Institutes (SCIs); (Maximum financial assistance is Rs 15 lakh)

Financial assistance for poor patients suffering from rare diseases:

• For rare diseases referred for treatment in Government hospitals/institutions with super specialty facilities; (Maximum financial assistance is Rs 20 lakh)

              Source: Indian Express