Health protection scheme a "game changer": Apollo Hospitals

: Healthcare provider Apollo Hospitals today termed as a 'game changer' the budget proposal to cover 10 crore families under the National Health Protection Scheme.
The initiative to provide 10 crore families with Rs five lakh insurance cover each annually will be a "gamechanger", Apollo Hospitals Chairman, Dr Prathap C Reddy said.
In the union budget presented today, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government will launch the flagship scheme to cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families providing coverage upto Rs five lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.
Apollo Hospitals, Managing Director, Suneeta Reddy said the government has taken a "huge step" in making healthcare affordable by launching the scheme.

"It is indeed heartening that 40 per cent of India's population will be covered under a insurance scheme. If the National Health Protection Scheme is properly implemented and monitored we would have taken an important step in creating a Swasth Bharat", she said.