State govt increases health coverage to ₹1.60 lakh amid rising GBS cases

The government issued a notification stating that affected patients will now receive free medical treatment valued at up to ₹1.60 lakh, an increase from the previous limit of ₹ 80,000.

Due to a sudden and unexpected rise in suspected cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) across the district, which require expensive treatment, the state government on Saturday doubled the treatment coverage for these patients under the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) schemes.

As per officials, Pune district to date, has reported as many as 82 cases of suspected GBS. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

The government issued a notification stating that affected patients will now receive free medical treatment valued at up to ₹1.60 lakh, an increase from the previous limit of ₹ 80,000.

As per officials, Pune district to date, has reported as many as 82 cases of suspected GBS. Due to this, these patients are being diagnosed with lung-related pneumonia and are undergoing treatment on ventilators. During a meeting held on January 22, by the divisional commissioner, Pune it was stated that the package under the MJPJAY and PM-JAY for GBS, Myasthenic Crisis, Relapse, Refractory Optic Neuritis, Transverse Myelitis and Autoimmune Encephalitis amongst others needs to be increased.

Annasaheb Chavan, chief executive officer, MJPJAY and PMJAY schemes, informed that a request was made to revise the package accordingly. “Following this, the packages were revised after discussion with the medical health officers,” he said.

“All procedures related to GBS, and their appropriate use can benefit patients. However, if there is a need for additional treatment methods for patients with GBS, the details and the necessary increase in the package amount for each specific case should be communicated to this office,” added Chavan.