72-YEAR-OLD FARMER GETS KNEE REPLACED FOR FREE AT PVT HOSPITAL

BATHINDA : For 72-year-old Gurjant Singh of Bathinda’s Tungwali village, the Ayushman Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana came as a godsend during the lockdown.

Gurjant, a farmer with four acres, was suffering from severe arthritis and a private orthopaedic specialist suggested knee replacement in the first week of June.

Gurjant’s son Jagjit said the seven-member family did not have any health cover earlier and the biggest concern was the cost of the operation. “Last year, we enrolled for the Sarbat Sehat Bima. I was doubtful if the knee replacement, which costs about Rs 2 lakh, was covered under the government’s cashless insurance scheme,” says Jagjit. As the family members decided to go ahead with Gurjant’s knee replacement, the orthopedician told them that the insurance policy can be availed at a private institute only if the health officials at the civil hospital refer the case.

“It took me three hours to get the official nod from two doctors at the district hospital. My father was operated at a private hospital on Barnala road in the city. He was hospitalised for three days but we did not pay a single paisa for the treatment. He can now walk comfortably,” says Jagjit.