Mukhyamantri Bal Hridaya Upchar Yojana, Madhya Pradesh

What is Mukhyamantri Bal Hridaya Upchar Yojana?

Mukhyamantri Bal Hridaya Upchar Yojana, sometimes written as Bal Hriday Upchar Yojana, is a child cardiac care scheme of the Public Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh, delivered through the National Health Mission, Madhya Pradesh. The scheme arranges free treatment and surgery for children aged 0 to 15 years who are found to have an identified heart disease, with the state government meeting the cost at empanelled hospitals.

The scheme exists because congenital heart disease is one of the most common serious birth defects, roughly 8 to 9 children in every 1,000 live births are born with some form of it, and because corrective surgery is beyond the reach of almost every family that needs it. A single paediatric cardiac procedure in a private hospital can cost several lakh rupees. Left untreated, many of these children do not survive to adulthood; treated in time, most go on to live completely normal lives.

Mukhyamantri Bal Hridaya Upchar Yojana works alongside the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), the national child health screening programme that Madhya Pradesh runs through mobile health teams and District Early Intervention Centres. RBSK finds the children; the Bal Hridaya scheme pays for the heart surgery they need.

Key features

• Covers children aged 0 to 15 years who are residents of Madhya Pradesh.
• Treatment and surgery arranged free of cost to the family at empanelled hospitals.
• No income test is applied at the screening stage. The scheme is driven by the child's medical need.
• Children are identified by screening, not by families filling in forms.
• Delivered through the National Health Mission, Madhya Pradesh, with the district Chief Medical and Health Officer as the local anchor.

Scheme listings maintained under the state's public services framework describe per-case assistance in the range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 1,00,000 depending on the condition and the procedure. Because the department publishes package rates rather than a single headline figure, families should confirm the applicable amount and package with the district Chief Medical and Health Officer before treatment.

Which children are eligible for Bal Hridaya Upchar Yojana?

A child qualifies if:

• The child is aged 0 to 15 years.
• The child is a resident of Madhya Pradesh.
• The child has been diagnosed with an identified heart disease, most commonly a congenital defect such as a hole in the heart, a valve defect or a vessel abnormality; by an RBSK screening team, a District Early Intervention Centre, or a government hospital doctor.
• The condition is treatable by a procedure covered in the empanelled hospital's cardiac package list.
• A parent or legal guardian is available to give consent for the treatment.

A child cannot be treated under this scheme if:

• The child has crossed 15 years of age. Older children and adults are not eligible here and should be assessed under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana or the Madhya Pradesh Rajya Bimari Sahayata Nidhi.
• The child is not a resident of Madhya Pradesh. This is a state scheme and residence is a condition.
• The condition is not a cardiac condition covered by the scheme. Other childhood conditions are covered under the wider RBSK list, not under this scheme, and the District Early Intervention Centre will route the case accordingly.
• The family goes directly to a private hospital without a referral. Treatment taken outside the empanelled network without the department's referral is not reimbursed.
• The child has already been treated for the same condition under this scheme and the case is closed, unless a fresh medical need is certified.

What documents are needed?

Carry the originals as well as photocopies to the district hospital. The empanelled hospital's admission desk will usually keep a set.

How to apply for Mukhyamantri Bal Hridaya Upchar Yojana

1. Get the child screened. The simplest route is the RBSK mobile health team that visits anganwadi centres and government schools in every block of Madhya Pradesh. Ask the anganwadi worker or ASHA when the team is next due. Alternatively, take the child to the nearest government hospital and ask for a paediatric check-up.
2. Have the case referred to the District Early Intervention Centre (DEIC) attached to the district hospital. The DEIC is the assessment point for children found with a defect or disease during screening.
3. Complete the diagnostic tests, primarily an echocardiogram, at the district hospital or the centre it directs you to. These reports determine which cardiac package the child needs.
4. Collect the referral issued by the DEIC or the district hospital to an empanelled cardiac hospital. Keep this referral safe, it is the document that makes the treatment free.
5. Submit the document set — the child's Aadhaar or birth certificate, residence proof, Samagra ID, the referral and the diagnostic reports; at the empanelled hospital's admission counter.
6. Take the child for admission and surgery on the date given by the empanelled hospital. The hospital bills the department under the scheme; the family should not be asked to pay.
7. Attend the follow-up reviews at the DEIC or district hospital after discharge, so that the recovery is recorded and any further procedure can be sanctioned.

How do I check the status of a referral?

There is no public online status page for this scheme, so tracking is done through the health system:

1. Ask at the District Early Intervention Centre that raised the case; the DEIC maintains the register of referred children.
2. Contact the district Chief Medical and Health Officer's (CMHO) office, which holds the empanelment list and the sanction record.
3. Follow up with the empanelled hospital's admission desk, quoting the referral number, for the surgery date.
4. Ask the ASHA worker or anganwadi worker in your village or ward, who is normally told when a referred child's appointment is fixed.
5. Register a complaint on the CM Helpline 181 if a referred child has waited an unreasonable time for a date.

Why do cases get delayed or refused?

• Age crossed 15 years between screening and surgery. This is why an early referral matters so much.
• Incomplete diagnostic reports. The empanelled hospital cannot fix a package without the echocardiogram and related cardiology reports.
• Residence not established. A missing Samagra ID or residence proof stalls the file, particularly for migrant families.
• No referral. Families who take the child straight to a private hospital often discover afterwards that the cost cannot be brought under the scheme.
• The condition falls outside the covered cardiac list, in which case the DEIC should route the case to another stream such as Ayushman Bharat or the Rajya Bimari Sahayata Nidhi.
• The child is medically unfit for surgery at that moment, for example because of low weight or an active infection. The referral usually stays open and the surgery is rescheduled.

Where do I get help?

• District Early Intervention Centre (DEIC) at your district hospital, the first point of contact for any child referred through RBSK screening.
• District Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), holds the empanelment list and can intervene where a hospital demands payment.
• National Health Mission, Madhya Pradesh: nhmmp.gov.in, IT cell email itcell.nhm@mp.gov.in.
• Madhya Pradesh CM Helpline: 181, for delays, refusals or demands for money.

No family should pay an agent, a broker or a hospital tout to get a child's heart surgery approved in Madhya Pradesh. The referral is issued by government doctors and the treatment cost is borne by the state. If anyone asks for money, take it straight to the CMHO or the CM Helpline.