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Addressing a long-standing demand, the Health Minister said 2,500 permanent posts of staff nurses would be created, and existing contract nurses on consolidated pay would be absorbed into regular time-scale pay.
| Photo Credit: B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM
Tamil Nadu will launch the ‘Chief Minister’s Elderly Health Insurance Scheme’, covering nearly 38 lakh senior citizens aged 70 and above. The scheme will provide free medical treatment, including cancer care packages, advanced cardiac surgeries, organ transplants, and high-end diagnostic services, at empanelled government and private hospitals, with no ceiling on income, Health Minister K.G. Arunraj announced in the Assembly on Monday.
The Minister made 115 announcements for the Health Department at a total estimated outlay of ₹2,997 crore. It covered areas including policy reforms, universal free health services, new posts creation, infrastructure projects, equipment and procurement, direct beneficiary programmes and digital health initiatives.
The 87-year-old Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939, will be replaced with a modern, comprehensive Act to address contemporary and future health challenges. Dr. Arunraj said a new provision would make unsupervised home births outside hospitals a punishable offence. Noting that Tamil Nadu was known as the country’s health capital, he said that ‘TN Medicity’, a world class integrated medical hub comprising clinical services, research, medical tourism, and AYUSH, would be established. The government will allocate ₹10 crore for the preparation of a Detailed Project Report in the first phase.
‘Nalam 360-Annual Free Health Check-up for All’ scheme will be rolled out. Under this, everyone aged 30 and above will receive 14 basic tests annually, free of cost, across 1,257 government health facilities in the State.