Kochi: The Kerala Government has officially issued an order approving the implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The landmark decision, announced by Health Minister Veena George on Sunday, aims to provide "Health Protection for All," specifically targeting the "missing middle," lakhs of families who have spent years caught in a gap where they were neither eligible for welfare schemes nor covered by government employee insurance.

For years, a massive section of Kerala's population, those who are not "Below Poverty Line" (BPL) enough for Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP) but are not government employees covered by MEDISEP, have lived in fear of medical expenses. These families often face "out-of-pocket" expenses that can wipe out a lifetime of savings in a single hospital visit.

"The scheme was formulated specifically to provide health coverage to people who are not included in existing programmes like KASP, the Karunya Benevolent Fund, or MEDISEP," Minister Veena George stated in an extensive Facebook update.

 

 

The "Health Protection for All" project is the result of over a year of high-level discussions initiated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The plan was a cornerstone of the Vision 2031 review meetings and was officially announced in the 2026 State Budget.

While KASP already protects 42 lakh poor families with up to ₹5 lakh per year in treatment coverage, and the Karunya Benevolent Fund assists those with incomes below ₹3 lakh, this new initiative finally bridges the final gap. The goal is simple: 100% of Kerala’s population must have a health shield.

The Minister also highlighted how far the state has come in just a decade, “10 years ago, the medical assistance provided was Rs. 30,000 (thirty thousand). That too for 40,000 families. Today, the families covered by the KASP scheme in the state are being provided medical coverage of Rs. 5 lakh annually. Instead of forty thousand then, today 42 lakh families have cards under the KASP scheme,” she added.

Existing schemes already offer extra relief, such as an additional ₹1 lakh for kidney-related ailments under the Karunya Benevolent Fund, a model the new UHC is expected to build upon.

With this order, Kerala moves closer to its goal of becoming a global health hub.