“The Government of India will set up a financial aid fund for the poor suffering from life threatening diseases. In its first year, the government has allocated approximately US$20 .392m to the fund known as Delhi Aroyaga Kosh (DAK). This initial investment will be deposited at a nationalized bank. In its second year, financial aid will be given from the interest earned on the initial allocated amount. Eligible applicants for funds will be people living below the poverty line, those who have an Antodya ration card, or those who make up to INR100,000 (~US$2,000) per year.

“The Supreme Court of India gave private Delhi hospitals the mandate to administer free treatment to poor patients referred to them by government institutions. This arrangement would be in effect until private hospitals and the government are able to form a common policy on free treatment to poor patients. Until the policy is put in place, the Court has ordered hospitals to maintain a separate account of incurred expenses of treating poor patients. The Court has also asked private hospitals to submit proposals on free treatment immediately.”

Implications from IFTF:

Providing labor regulations to support the poorest workers who are often left vulnerable to exploitation from their employers is a challenge throughout the globe. Naya Javeen in Pakistan has a novel solution.

“Naya Jeevan is a new venture launched in Pakistan in 2007 to cover a particular segment of the poor—household staff such as cooks, drivers, maids and gardeners—who are in the employ of their well-heeled countrymen who work for multinational corporations.

The digitizing of the healthcare system is still a long way off for many developing nations. Bangladesh on the other hand is moving full speed ahead with innovative uses and investments for ehealth. Below are some examples from SFG.

Thailand has started universal healthcare in an attempt to provide equal health services to all citizens. This however has been met with some criticism as suddenly the medical system is being overwhelmed with more patients than it can manage, and some barriers to narrowing the divide between rich and poor medical access still remain. At the end of it all however, Noviscape suggest this will result in increasing conflict between patients and physicians.

Thailand adopted a universal healthcare scheme to help ensure equal provision of health services to all citizens. Although they have come far in terms of improving access to their healthcare system, newer hurdles arise. Currently the main challenge may be categorized as transportation inequalities.

Despite Bangladesh's labor laws and the standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO) mandating that factories must provide healthcare to their workers, most factories in Bangladesh have no doctors or nurses on their premises and are not linked to any healthcare program. The Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association does have 10 medical centers for factory workers in the country, but they are short of doctors and are not adequately equipped. This leaves the approximately 3.1 million workers (80-85% of whom are women) without critical services.

South Africa is doing what has eluded the United States for years -- moving towards universal healthcare aiming to make access to healthcare for the poorest communities possible.

The use of IT and smartcards to roll out India's RSBY program (see http://rfsearchlight.clearsignals.org/node/277) streamlines healthcare and vastly increases enrollment.

The health insurance program uses smart cards to ensure a paperless, cashless system for healthcare: patients show up, show the card, and are given care no questions asked. The system also lays the infrastructure for massive data collection and analysis. All enrolled hospitals are currently connected to a central district server, and RSBY is developing a robust monitoring and evaluation system.

India's innovative and expanding health insurance program for those below the poverty line could increase India's public health and social security.

The Strategic Foresight Group writes,

"India’s ‘Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna’ (RSBY) scheme, launched in April 2008, provides basic health insurance to the millions in the country that live below the poverty line. If successful, this will have a far-reaching impact on India’s future social security."