All inmates of registered homes for the mentally ill will be enrolled under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) without requiring the mandated ration card and income certificate.
Issuing an order to this effect, the State government permitted the Project Director of Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project (TNHSP) to enrol all inmates in registered homes under CMCHIS without the mandated ration card and income certificate, subject to satisfying the criteria prescribed in Government Order 16 dated January 8, 2022 [on continuation of implementing CMCHIS with effect from January 11, 2022 to January 10, 2027 through United India Insurance Company at a premium of Rs. 849 per family per annum].
The government sanctioned Rs. 51,05,896 for the enrollment of 5,944 inmates in 108 homes under the Welfare of the Differently Abled Persons Department without the need for the two documents.
It was at the sixth monitoring committee meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary in early 2024 that it was decided to issue orders to approve issuance of CMCHIS cards to inmates residing at homes for the mentally ill in the absence of other individual identity cards such as ration card, income certificate that are mandated as eligibility criteria for enrolment under the scheme.
Listing out the mental health establishments in the State, the Health department noted that there are a total of 54 government-run and an equal number of NGO-run homes for mentally ill persons in the State. There are six halfway homes – one with the Institute of Mental Health and five with the Welfare of the Differently Abled Persons Department. There are eight government-run and eight NGO-run Emergency Care and Recovery Centres in the State.
Officials said that providing CMCHIS coverage for persons with mental illness residing at mental health establishments would help them get medical or surgical treatment that they required in both government hospitals and empanelled private hospitals. “There may be inmates who suffer from cardiac ailments requiring bypass surgery or stenting, or from fractures or hernias or medical management for any illness,” an official said, adding that one of the highlights measures taken was to do away with the need for the mandated documents to enrol under CMCHIS.
Doctors said that most of the residents do not have social support, and relaxation of these norms would facilitate access to immediate medical care especially in emergencies. It may be recalled that in mid-2022 a total of 520 residents of IMH were brought under CMCHIS after the State government relaxed these norms.
Published – August 14, 2025 01:09 am IST
