Over one lakh urban poor benefited from PMC’s health assistance scheme between 2011-2020

The PMC had launched the scheme for the urban poor in 2011 to enable the latter to seek medical treatment for serious ailments in private hospitals.

In the last ten years, over one lakh urban poor citizens have benefited from the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) initiative of providing financial assistance for the medical treatment of people with serious ailments.

The PMC had launched the scheme for the urban poor in 2011 to enable the latter to seek medical treatment for serious ailments in private hospitals. The civic body has been ensuring the payment of medical bills of Rs 1 lakh per beneficiary. Those seeking treatment for heart diseases, cancer and kidney ailment are covered under the scheme.

“The scheme to help urban poor get treatment for serious ailments in private hospitals was launched in 2011 when the NCP was in power. The scheme has been very effective as it has benefited a total of 1,00,536 urban poor in the last ten years. The PMC has spent Rs 222 crore for incurring their medical bills,” said NCP leader Nilesh Nikam, who was the standing committee chairperson of the civic body in 2011.

Nikam said that the scheme has helped the ailing poor in difficult times and the number of its beneficiaries increase every year.

According to PMC officials, the maximum number of beneficiaries were in the last financial year, when 21,037 urban poor citizens had availed benefits of the scheme. The civic body had incurred an expenditure of Rs 54 crore for the same.

The beneficiaries are likely to be increased this financial year as the PMC has already spent Rs 42 crore in the last seven months for paying the medical bills of 7,556 urban poor patients with serious ailments.

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