TN to Launch Health Insurance for 38 Lakh Seniors Aged 70 and Above

Tamil Nadu will launch the ‘Chief Minister’s Elderly Health Insurance Scheme’ to provide free healthcare coverage to nearly 38 lakh senior citizens aged 70 and above, Health Minister K.G. Arunraj announced in the Assembly on Monday.

The scheme will offer free treatment, including cancer care packages, advanced cardiac surgeries, organ transplants, and high-end diagnostic services, across empanelled government and private hospitals without any income ceiling. The measure was part of 115 announcements made by the Minister for the Health Department, carrying a total estimated outlay of ₹2,997 crore.

The department plans major legislative updates, including replacing the 87-year-old Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939, with modern legislation to address emerging health challenges. Under a new provision in the proposed law, unsupervised home births outside hospitals will become a punishable offence. The government also plans to introduce the ‘TN Institutions of State Importance in Health Care Act’ and a ‘Positive Health Policy’ paired with a ‘Nalam 360’ mobile application.

Dr. Arunraj also announced the establishment of ‘TN Medicity’, an integrated medical hub dedicated to clinical care, research, medical tourism, and AYUSH. The State will allocate ₹10 crore in the initial phase to draft a Detailed Project Report for the hub.

Under the newly announced ‘Nalam 360-Annual Free Health Check-up for All’ initiative, people aged 30 and above will be eligible for 14 free tests annually across 1,257 government health facilities. The screening package will cover blood pressure, ECG, haemoglobin, complete haemogram, random blood sugar, urea, creatinine, total cholesterol, serum bilirubin, urine albumin, and VIA screening. Home-based sample collection and diagnostic testing will also be introduced in metropolitan areas under a public-private partnership model.

Addressing staffing demands, the Minister announced the creation of 2,500 permanent staff nurse posts, allowing existing contract nurses on consolidated pay to transition to regular time-scale pay. An additional 1,695 nursing posts on consolidated pay will be created at a cost of ₹42.72 crore.

A further 3,594 medical staff across 24 categories—such as pharmacists, nursing assistants, village health nurses, and ophthalmic assistants—will be recruited through the Medical Services Recruitment Board. The department will also establish 284 temporary super speciality posts across 25 disciplines on time-scale pay to deploy post-graduate doctors serving bond conditions to district-level hospitals.