Hi Goans everywhere, This project could be implemented to help everyone -- well off or not so -- as we grow older we need more and more medical attention and the costs of even simple procedures are prohibitive.
So persuade your neighbourhood groups to set up group insurance policies for mediclaim coverage -- Mediclaim insurance for my family is covered by Bank of India's unique scheme through National Insurance Co for all those holding Bank of India Credit Cards. Premium of individual mediclaim insurance is relatively high, but as a group there will be substantial discounts -- plus as more people are insured the ratio of claims to insurance premia will fall and then the insurance companies will think of reducing these premia. A real win-win proposal. Cheers to our continued good health. Aloysius D'Souza A very good project - needs to be propagated and implemented. Please pass it on ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ruth D'Souza Date: 16 February 2011 09:43 *Pokhran implements unique medical insurance project for the poor * The diagnosis and subsequent death of a young widow from cancer and her struggles to find the finances together with the strength needed to battle the disease, triggered a debate among the finance committee of Our Lady of Mercy Church, Pokhran on ‘how can we help the poor of our parish to tide healthcare problems?’ From Clara’s experience we found that the poor have to run from pillar to post for medical aid (which is meager and which necessitates spending first and then submitting bills for reimbursement), find doctors and hospitals which can offer cost effective treatment, resulting in vital time being lost. In the 3 months it took her to find aid, the disease had spread extensively. In our quest to research what could be done, we found that a few parishes in Mumbai help those in need through the community fund. However, the quantum of aid is limited because of the sheer volume of need. We found that medical insurance is an option usually for the rich as the poor can barely manage to make ends meet and have no spare funds for an insurance policy which would ensure they get health security. Weighing the pros and cons, we concluded that an insurance policy, covering families, with the premiums being paid from the community fund was the ideal solution. OLMC Pokhran has now implemented this scheme to cover the poor families of our parish. Under this scheme, we have tied up with an insurance provider for a family floater insurance scheme Families are insured for amounts of Rs 1 to 2 lacs depending on the age of the head of the family. After an elaborate exercise to identify the families, Phase 1 of the project has been rolled out in January 2011. Many thanks to our Priest in Charge, Fr Ralph Fernandes who was open to the idea and gave us the final go ahead! We hope that many more parishes will follow the lead of Pokhran to address the challenge of providing health security to the poor who are driven into the debt trap or forced to remain untreated when confronted with disease. If any parish would like to implement this scheme, the students and alumni of Power To Lead are willing to provide guidance and support. Do write to us at [email protected] or contact Ruth D’Souza at [email protected] Ruth D’Souza Pokhran **
