Ayushman Bharat to cover cosmetic operation for transgender people

NEW DELHI: The government is all set to roll out a dedicated health insurance scheme for transgender persons from September to provide a composite health package, which will also cover components of hormone therapy and gender re-affirmation surgery, which can be redeemed at all private and government healthcare facilities empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

An ‘Ayushman Bharat TG Plus Card’ will be generated for verified beneficiaries. To address the specific needs of the community, in a first, cosmetic surgery has also been brought into the ambit of the cashless health cover for TG persons.

To provide the health package on Wednesday, minister for social justice and empowerment (MoSJE) Virendra Kumar and health minister Mansukh Mandaviya came together as officials of MoSJE and the National Health Authority signed a memorandum of understanding. It is learnt that within a week its on-ground execution will start. To mark the moment two transwomen, Parvati Nair and Mahi Singh received a symbolic TG health card from the ministers.

Mandaviya said there are approximately 4.8 lakh transgenders who stand to benefit from the new policy.

Under this initiative, TG persons will receive a medical cover of Rs 5 lakh per year and the cost would be fully funded by the ministry of social justice and empowerment under its ‘Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE)’ scheme. Social Justice minister Virendra Kumar said that the whole process will be cashless for the beneficiary. The benefits will be available to all eligible TG persons irrespective of their economic status and there is no cap on the numbers.

However, only those TG persons can avail of this facility who hold a TG certificate and ID card issued by the National Portal for Transgender Persons as per self-perceived identity of applicant in keeping with the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019. Also those already getting such benefits under any other central or state sponsored schemes will not be eligible.

Those eligible can access the benefits from any empanelled hospital and get their details entered/verified on a real time basis After the verification process of the TG certificate, the eligible applicant will be issued the health card.

As per the latest data available since the launch of the national portal in November 2020, so far 10,639 TG persons have applied for certificates. As of Tuesday, 8,080 TG persons have been issued TG Unique IDs. Around 2,314 applications are pending approval. Officials are hoping that after the rollout of the health package begins many more TG persons will be motivated to come forward to register on the TG portal for certification to be able to avail the health benefit.

Courtesy : TOI

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