Dimapur: The Sikkim government has shown keen interest in the Nagaland Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme (CMHIS), with a four-member delegation from the state expressing a desire to learn from Nagaland’s experience, particularly in implementing a health insurance scheme that provides cashless treatment and reaches beneficiaries across geographical boundaries.
The delegation expressed this during a courtesy call on Nagaland Development Commissioner Y Kikheto Sema at his office chamber at the Nagaland Civil Secretariat in Kohima on Monday. The team is on a two-day visit to Nagaland to study the implementation of the CMHIS.
The team was led by Karma N Bhutia, secretary to the Sikkim Chief Minister.
Bhutia said Sikkim was keen to learn from Nagaland’s experience, acknowledging that Nagaland had faced several challenges in establishing the system, including difficulties related to hospital empanelment, reimbursement and service delivery, but said these efforts had created a strong foundation for other states to build upon.
He recalled that the decision to study the Nagaland model followed an interaction with the Development Commissioner at a NITI Aayog meeting on June 12, during which Nagaland’s achievements in health insurance and other sectors were highlighted.
Following the interaction, the Sikkim state leadership directed officials to visit Nagaland and examine the implementation of CMHIS, he added.
He said the CMHIS model had attracted interest because it provided accessible and cashless treatment to beneficiaries, including at empanelled hospitals outside the state.
Bhutia said Sikkim intended to adopt the Nagaland model and requested technical guidance and continued cooperation from the Nagaland government.
Interacting with the visiting team, Sema outlined the evolution of CMHIS from the initial implementation of the Central Government Health Insurance Scheme.
He said the scheme faced several challenges in its early stages, including limited hospital empanelment and inadequate reimbursement rates.
Sema further pointed out that the state government subsequently revised the arrangements, improved the reimbursement rates and expanded the network of empanelled hospitals.
He added that more than 70 hospitals across the country are currently empanelled under the scheme, including hospitals frequently accessed by patients from Nagaland in cities such as Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati.
Government and private hospitals within the state are also part of the network, he said.