Tibetan Medicare System (TMS) announces 70% subsidy to the most vulnerable sections of the Tibetan population in India

Department of Health, Central Tibetan Administration would like to announce a subsidy of 70% (Rs.2500 out of Rs.3565) in Tibetan Medicare System (TMS), a community based health insurance scheme. Now subsidy benefits have been extended to more groups of Tibetans living in India.

The scheme aims to reduce the burden of out of the pocket expenditure, which accounts to approximately 88% of health expenditures, which is higher than in many developing countries such as India and Nepal.

In 2009 CTA survey, it was found that over 45% of the Tibetan exile community suffers from diseases such as Cancer, Tuberculosis, Liver cirrhosis, Diabetes and heart diseases, which require a high degree of secondary and tertiary care. Lack of an adequate healthcare coverage has been a major cause of high mortality as well as a primary cause of poverty and financial insecurity amongst the community.

Under the leadership of the Kashag of Honorable Sikyong Dr.Lobsang Sangay, the Department of Health had launched the implementation of TMS Health Plan on 1st April, 2012. Since then, TMS is being implemented successfully, for close to four years now and has provided an equitable and comprehensive healthcare coverage to the Tibetans living in India. During last four years, 49,000 Tibetans have enrolled in the TMS and more than 2000 have availed the benefits till date.  However, more participation of the Tibetan public is crucial to build TMS stronger and self-reliant; and to pre-empt financial constraints faced by the Tibetans during medical emergencies.

The revised TMS Health Plan got operational from 1st April 2015 and aims to further strengthen health care mechanisms by providing sustainability to the existing TMS Health plan. With this, the revised TMS Health Plan proposes to cover all the exile Tibetan population in India.

TMS Health Plan is essentially a non-profit, community based health plan designed to serve the healthcare needs of the entire Tibetan exile community in India. While providing full coverage to the most disadvantaged sections of the society, it also provides real benefits of the membership to all Tibetans living in India, who volunteer to pay an annual contribution to TVHA.

TMS works on the principle of community based health plan by spreading the risk of healthcare expenses over a number of people so that the financial burden of unfortunate few who need healthcare is shared by the many fortunate who remain healthy. The TMS Health Plan seeks to reimburse in-patient medical and surgical expenses incurred by TMS Members in both public and private health facilities, including hospitalization expenses at Tibetan Sorig facilities.

While addressing the deficiencies in the current Tibetan healthcare system and providing accessibility to comprehensive services, TMS also contributes to the effectiveness of its ongoing prevention programmes. Through this approach to healthcare, the TMS aims to help reduce financial insecurity in short term and improve the public health and well-being of all Tibetans in exile in India in long run.

Health Department would like to announce that USAID sponsored Subsidy of 70% (Rs.2500 out of Rs.3565) of TMS contribution will be given for the following households and individuals among Exile Tibetan population in India.

  1. Economically weak individuals and families living in India including families of Nyamthaks B and D
  2. Monks and Nuns
  3. New arrivals from Tibet since 1994
  4. Families with three or more children (third, fourth and so on children up to 18 years of age)
  5. Old People Homes
  6. Family of people living with HIV AIDS (but not people living with HIV AIDS)
  7. Family of people with disabilities (but not people with disabilities)
  8. Widows and widowers; and their families
  9. Families of people with mental disorders (but not people with mental disorders)
  10. Remote settlements in LadakhJangthang nomad areas and Arunachal Pradesh
  11. Construction laborers and their families

The Department has also decided to give one time Subsidy of 50% (Rs.1783 out of Rs.3565) of TMS contribution to Families of Tibetan Staffs employed by CTA and Non CTA Tibetan Institutions in India.

The next TMS enrolment period will start from 20 January and ends on 29 February 2016.

The Health Department strongly advises and encourages all Tibetans living in India to enroll in TMS and protect their families from unexpected financial loss due to expensive Surgical and medical treatment.

For Further information, beneficiaries are advised to contact Settlement Officers and Hospital Administrator at the respective Tibetan settlements in India; and /or to:

 

Department of Health
Central Tibetan Administration (CTA)
Dharamsala, Distt. Kangra
H.P. India
Phone: +91-1892-223408, +91-1892-223486
Fax No.:  +91-1892-222718
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Website: www.tibet.net
www.tibetanhealth.org
www.ngoengaschool.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CTATMS

Date: 2nd January 2016
Dharamshala