Himcare cards to be made on quarterly basis

With focus on further strengthening the Himcare scheme, the state government has decided that these cards will be made on a quarterly basis every year, as 5.80 lakh people are already availing of its benefits.

A spokesperson for the Health Department said here yesterday that the government had extended the benefits of around Rs 810 crore to over 5.80 lakh beneficiaries of Himachal Pradesh under the Himcare scheme since it came to power in December 2022. “The Himcare card will be valid for one year and the portal to apply for it will be opened after every three months. The portal will remain open for a month in March, June, September and December for each quarter,” he added.

He said that the new decision would come into effect after July and the portal was open for registration this month. After July, the portal would be opened on the first day of March, June, September and December and would remain open for the entire month. However, people could renew their Himcare cards throughout the year.

“If a beneficiary fails to renew his card on time and it expires, the expired card will be renewed on a quarterly basis in March, June, September and December, as per the new policy,” he said. There are 5.26 lakh Himcare card holding families and 3,227 diseases are covered under it for free treatment.

Himachal Tribune