Kumar Rajratna Bhimrao Ambedkar Medical Assistance Scheme

What is the Kumar Rajratna Bhimrao Ambedkar Medical Assistance Scheme?

Kumar Rajratna Bhimrao Ambedkar Medical Assistance Scheme is a health support scheme of the Directorate of Scheduled Caste Welfare, under the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Government of Gujarat. On the directorate's own scheme list it appears as BCK-47, "Free Medical Aid", and it sits in the group of schemes covering health, housing construction and other welfare measures for Scheduled Caste families. Readers who search for it in Gujarati will find it as Kumar Rajratna Bhimrao Ambedkar Vaidakiya Sahay Yojana.

The scheme's design is simple and old-fashioned in a useful way. Instead of an insurance product with a single ceiling, Gujarat fixes a separate amount for each illness. A person with a common illness gets a small amount towards medicines; a person with cancer, leprosy or HIV-AIDS gets support that continues until recovery. The Scheduled Caste family carrying the cost of a long illness is the intended beneficiary, and the income test is generous by Gujarat welfare standards at Rs 6,00,000 a year.

How much does the scheme pay?

According to the Directorate of Scheduled Caste Welfare, the pattern of assistance under BCK-47 is:

Two points matter when you plan around these numbers. First, the amounts are per case for short illnesses and per month for the long ones; leprosy and HIV-AIDS support keeps coming while treatment continues, which is what makes the scheme worth applying for even though the individual figures look small. Second, the scheme is a top-up on treatment, not a substitute for it. Gujarat's Scheduled Caste patients are usually also covered by the Ayushman Bharat–PMJAY and Mukhyamantri Amrutam (MA) hospitalisation cards, and this assistance is meant to meet the medicine, travel and out-of-pocket costs that a hospitalisation package does not.

Who is eligible, and who is not eligible?

A patient can get this assistance if:

• The patient belongs to a caste listed as a Scheduled Caste in Gujarat and holds a caste certificate from a competent authority.
• The family's annual income is up to Rs 6,00,000. The Directorate publishes the same limit, Rs 6,00,000, for rural area and urban area applicants.
• The patient is a resident of Gujarat and is taking treatment for one of the listed conditions.
• The illness is certified by a doctor, since the payable amount is decided by the diagnosis.

A patient is not eligible if:

• The patient is not from a Scheduled Caste. An SEBC or developing-caste patient is not eligible under BCK-47, and must instead approach the Directorate of Developing Castes Welfare, which runs its own "Kumar Rajaratna Bhimrao Ambedkar Free Medical Aid" scheme for its target group.
• Family income exceeds Rs 6,00,000 a year.
• The claim is for a condition outside the listed diseases and cannot be shown as a common disease requiring treatment.
• No medical documentation exists. A claim without a diagnosis, prescriptions or bills cannot be sanctioned, because the sanctioning officer has nothing to attach the fixed slab to.

What documents are required?

Keep the spelling of the name identical across the caste certificate, the Aadhaar card and the bank passbook. A mismatch between "Bhimrao" and "Bhimrav", or a different surname order, is the commonest reason a file is returned for correction rather than rejected outright.

How to apply for the Kumar Rajratna Bhimrao Ambedkar Medical Assistance Scheme

1. Get the diagnosis in writing. Ask the treating doctor at the government hospital, civil hospital or recognised private hospital for a certificate naming the disease — cancer, leprosy, tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS, a serious delivery case, or a common illness.
2. Collect the caste certificate and income certificate. Both come from the mamlatdar's office or through a Jan Seva Kendra. The income certificate must show family income of Rs 6,00,000 a year or less.
3. Get the application form from the office of the District Deputy Director (Scheduled Caste Welfare) or the Social Welfare Officer in your district. The Directorate of Scheduled Caste Welfare also carries scheme forms in the Forms section of its website.
4. Fill the form and attach the caste certificate, income certificate, doctor's certificate, hospital bills and prescriptions, Aadhaar card and a copy of the bank passbook.
5. Submit the file at the district office and collect a dated inward acknowledgement or receipt number. Keep photocopies of everything you hand in.
6. Answer any query promptly. If the office asks for an additional paper, supply it in writing with a reference to the inward number so that the file moves on the same application rather than starting again.
7. For monthly conditions, keep filing follow-up papers. Leprosy at Rs 800 a month and HIV-AIDS at Rs 500 a month continue while treatment continues, so fresh treatment certificates are what keep the payment running.

Gujarat's Social Justice and Empowerment Department also runs e-Samaj Kalyan (esamajkalyan.gujarat.gov.in), the online application system for its schemes. Check on the portal whether BCK-47 is open for online filing in the current year before travelling to the district office, where it is listed, the online route saves a trip and gives you an application number instantly.

How do you check the status of the application?

Quote the inward number from your acknowledgement at the district office of the Deputy Director (Scheduled Caste Welfare) or Social Welfare Officer. Where the claim was filed online through e-Samaj Kalyan, the portal's application status page shows the stage against your application number. For anything the district office cannot answer, the state office is the Directorate of Scheduled Caste Welfare, Block 4, 2nd Floor, Dr Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar, telephone +91 79 23253229 / 23253235.

Why are applications rejected, and how do you fix them?

• Income certificate over the limit or out of date. Get a fresh certificate showing family income within Rs 6,00,000 a year; an old certificate from a previous year is often refused.
• Caste certificate in a different name or spelling. Have the mamlatdar issue it exactly as the name appears on the Aadhaar card.
• No disease named on the medical papers. A hospital bill alone does not establish which slab applies. Ask the doctor for a certificate that states the diagnosis.
• Bank account not in the patient's name. Payment is made to the patient, so a family member's account will hold the file up.
• Claim filed long after treatment. Apply while treatment papers are recent, and for monthly conditions file follow-up certificates rather than one claim at the end.

Where do you complain or ask for help?

Raise a delayed or rejected file first with the District Deputy Director (Scheduled Caste Welfare) who holds it, in writing, quoting the inward number. If that does not work, write to the Directorate of Scheduled Caste Welfare, Block 4, 2nd Floor, Dr Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar, telephone +91 79 23253229. The parent department is the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Block 5, 8th Floor, Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar.

Scheduled Caste families using this scheme frequently qualify for other schemes run by the same directorate, the Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra post-death assistance scheme for funeral costs, the Dr Ambedkar Awas Yojana for house construction, and Kunvarbainu Mameru for a daughter's marriage. Ask at the same district office; the caste and income certificates you have already obtained will serve for those applications too.