Awaz Health Insurance is a healthcare scheme introduced by the state government of Kerala for migrant workers. This initiative is the first of its kind that is intended for migrant labours. This scheme provides health insurance cover and accidental death coverage specifically for migrant workers working in the state. In November 2017, this health insurance scheme was introduced by the Kerala government. However, the registration process for this scheme began in December 2017.

Awaz Health Insurance Scheme in Kerala: Coverage, Eligibility and Features

The Kerala government at present aims to discover and provide health insurance policy coverage under this scheme to almost 5 lakh inter-state labourers who are working in Kerala by the year-end. Any migrant worker in Kerala can buy this scheme who requires financial security against health risks. This scheme makes the insured workers entitled to get free medical treatment at all government hospitals across the state and some empanelled private hospitals.

Coverage of Awaz Health Insurance Scheme

Under the Awaz health insurance scheme, you can get the following coverage:

1. Medical treatment for any type of illness or injury up to Rs. 15,000

2. Accidental death coverage is limited to Rs. 2 lakh. In case of the death of any insured migrant worker, his or her beneficiary can raise a claim for insurance amount by submitting valid death proof.

How to Avail Awaz Health Insurance Scheme Benefits?

To avail of the benefits of the Awaz Health Insurance Scheme, you will have to make a visit to any state government hospital or network private hospitals for medical treatment. You will have to show your Biometric Health Card to the hospital authorities in order to get cashless treatment.

Eligibility for Awaz Health Insurance Scheme

The eligibility criteria for Awaz Health Insurance Scheme are as follow:

1. The age of migrant workers should be between 18 years and 60 years.

2. At the time of enrollment, workers will have to give their fingerprint, iris, and work-related proof. After submitting all these, the insurance card will be issued. Also, Identification Card recognized either by the Central government or Kerala government like Aadhaar Card, Voter ID Card, Driving Licence, and so on. These ID proofs should be presented during your enrollment in the scheme.

Features of Awaz Health Insurance Scheme

Here are a few salient features of the Awaz Health Insurance Scheme that are listed below:

• The primary phase of data collection for this health insurance scheme was complete in December 2017 while the enrolment program’s trial run began on June 1, 2018.
• The official data collected in the year 2013 indicated that approximately 25 lakh migrant workers are currently working in Kerala with around 2.35 lakh more increasing every year.
• The enrollment process of this health insurance scheme was entirely monitored by the labour officers of the district.
• The health insurance scheme is advertised across the state in several languages such as Hindi, Bengali and Oriya.
• The registration camps are available in more than 200 locations across Kerala to recognise migrant workers and provide them with coverage.
• The government-issued smart card holds the name, photo, and local address of the nominee of the insured worker.
• As per the government, the existing health condition of migrant workers holds a major reason of concern. Specific ailments such as malaria are expected to have returned to the state due to migrant workers.
• To ensure a simple and smooth process of this health insurance scheme, several complaint redressal cells are established in diverse locations across the state.

The Kerala government has concerns pertaining to the health condition of a large number of migrant workers working in the state. With the betterment of the health condition of migrant workers, the health of local residents also gets affected, hence, this scheme will help in improving that too. The government of Kerala has so far allocated more than Rs.10 crore to introduce this scheme successfully and to get more insurance companies on board to offer this service.