The government is planning to extend the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), a government-sponsored health insurance, to all NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers. Till date the scheme covers only the below poverty line families.

“NREGA workers with more than 15-day experience in the last financial year will be eligible for this health cover. Of the total NREGA workers, almost 80-85 per cent belong to the below poverty line, while the remaining are above the poverty line. Therefore, RSBY would now be extended to the people who are above the poverty line,” an official close to the development said. There are expected to be around 5.5 crore households covered under NREGA this fiscal.

According to estimates shared by the Planning Commission, there are almost six crore BPL families in India. “The government wants to extend this cashless health insurance scheme to all these families by 2013. On the completion of this target, the government is likely to incur an expenditure of Rs 3,000 crore per annum to run this scheme,” said sources.

Going by estimates, the proposal to extend the scheme to NREGA workers will dig deeper holes in government's pockets. But at the same time, it will ensure a greater safety net for the people.RSBY provides cashless treatment through 1,428 empanelled hospitals across the country. It issues smart cards to the beneficiaries and uses biometric technology for the cashless transactions. The scheme was launched on April 1, 2008. According to the information on the RSBY website, the scheme has covered over 58 lakh families across 23 states and union territories. Nine insurance companies – four public sector and five from the private sector – offer the health insurance.

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