Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi Scheme (KASP)

The field of medicines constantly sees some innovation or the other. It can either be in the medical instruments being used or medicines or surgeries. If you visit a hospital within a gap of a year or two, you are more likely to find new or improved machines or techniques to perform diagnostic or treatment. There is absolutely no doubt that we need such medical advancements, but it comes at a cost.

This is where health insurance schemes like the Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP) became crucial. Launched in Kerala in 2012, KASP was initiated to support financially vulnerable families with access to quality healthcare. It aims to reduce the burden of rising medical expenses on low-income households. Read along to know more about how this scheme works and who can benefit from it.

The Karunya health scheme was introduced by the Kerala Government with the sole aim of providing quality healthcare to the financially less fortunate segment of society. The scheme would allow the poverty-stricken segment of the society to get access to quality healthcare by paying nominal premiums.

The UDF government came up with the scheme in 2012 for the underprivileged segment of society. Simply put, the Kerala Lottery funds the health insurance scheme. And the total expenses for treatment are settled directly by making a payment to the network hospitals.

The scheme ensures that the beneficiaries can receive treatment for critical illnesses. Each family that is covered as a part of the scheme receives a health cover of INR 5 lakhs for most secondary and tertiary medical care. To avail benefits of the scheme, the families must pay a nominal charge as the policy premium.

The karunya health scheme Kerala packs in quite a few features to make the policy effective. Here are the salient features of the scheme.

• The Government of Kerala has allocated a sum of INR 250 crores to cover the expenses related to the scheme. This allows the beneficiaries to claim ICU charges, operation expenses, medicines charges, consultation fees, hospitalisation charges, etc.
• During the initial phases of the scheme’s introduction, the treatment of medical conditions was only limited to government hospitals. However, with time a few private hospitals have also been empanelled. The presence of a few private hospitals ensures that the beneficiaries get access to better facilities and infrastructure and in turn, better treatment as well.
• You can visit the official website to get all the latest information about the scheme and any other updates that are available. The website is also essential for karunya arogya suraksha padhathi registration. Beneficiaries can find a lot of details on the website such as the claims procedure, the list of network hospitals and other important details.
• You can choose the available hospital list and specific dates for procedures by simply entering your location.

Just like any other insurance plan, the karuya health scheme also has a few benefits that you should be aware of. Before you enrol for the plan, here are the top benefits that you must know about the scheme.

• A major benefit of the scheme is that in cases where the treatment expenses exceed the estimated amount, you can claim reimbursement for the remaining amount.

Some common medical conditions for which the policy offers coverage are:

• Renal diseases
• Cancer
• Liver and Brain surgery
• Serious respiratory illness
• Haemophilia
• Heart-related diseases and transplant surgeries
• Palliative care

The Kerala government provides monetary benefits of up to INR 2 lakhs for the mentioned diseases. However, depending on the severity of the illness, the amount can be increased up to INR 3 lakhs.

Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi provides a cashless benefit of ₹5 lakh per family per year, on a floater basis (usable by any family member). There are no age or family-size limits, and pre-existing conditions are covered from Day 1.

The scheme primarily supports treatment for serious illnesses, including:

• Cancer

• Heart diseases (e.g., bypass, angioplasty, valve replacement)

• Kidney diseases and dialysis

• Liver surgery

• Brain surgery and neurological conditions

• Transplant surgeries

• Acute respiratory illnesses

• Haemophilia

• Palliative care for life-threatening conditions

Here are the official objectives of Karunya Trust, as outlined on its website. These serve as guiding principles and strategic areas of focus for its development interventions:

1. Enhance the human dignity of the needy and marginalised through empowerment.
2. Strengthen nodal centres in parishes and increase their participation in the development process.
3. Establish volunteer and action groups at the urban and rural grassroots levels.
4. Foster networks with like‑minded faith‑based and non‑governmental organisations in operational areas.
5. Promote advocacy and lobbying on core issues with policymakers, local administration, and media.
6. Collaborate with academic and professional institutes for policy research, analysis, documentation, and communication.
7. Develop leadership at both the individual and community levels.
8. Create alliances with civil society to address people’s issues.
9. Collaborate and partner with funding bodies, corporates, development institutions, government agencies, philanthropists and NGOs.
10. Build capacity among staff, FBOs, nodal centres, NGOs, and stakeholders on development issues.
11. Mobilise resources—financial, human, infrastructure—locally, nationally, and internationally through projects and schemes.
12. Promote good governance at local levels.
13. Support integrated and sustainable education across stakeholders.
14. Provide preventive, curative, and sustainable holistic healthcare services.
15. Promote sustainable livelihood interventions suited to people’s needs and capacities.
16. Strengthen local governance through active community participation and leadership.
17. Encourage a healthy environment via restoration, regeneration, and natural resource preservation, while addressing disaster issues.

You must meet certain criteria to be able to enrol for the Karunya health insurance scheme. Here are the criteria.

• The applicant or beneficiary must be a resident of Kerala.
• To be able to enrol for this scheme, the applicant must have their Aadhar card and income certificate as the primary documents, along with a few other documents.
• The scheme is applicable to people who fall below the poverty line. Families belonging to the BPL and APL can apply for the scheme, as long as the family income is less than INR 3 lakhs per annum.

It is quite easy to enrol for Karunya health scheme Kerala. Access to the internet and a relatively straightforward website make it easy to enrol for the scheme. You can visit the official government website and use the following steps to register for the scheme.

• Visit the official portal at http://karunya.kerala.gov.in to being the registration process
• Click on the section “How to Apply” from the home page
• Download the application form from the website
• Ensure to enter all the details carefully and submit the same along with the necessary documents

Those who have already applied or registered for the scheme and wish to know its status, they can do so easily from the website. You simply need to click on the Application Tracking button. The website would then expect a reference number or file number from you along with a Captcha. Alternatively, you can check your name in the List of Beneficiaries link. Both the options are available on the home page, thus making them easy to access.

If you wish to enrol for karunya health insurance scheme in Kerala, an income certificate along with an Aadhar card are the two most essential documents needed. However, it does not stop there. Here are some of the additional documents that you would need to submit, to apply for the scheme. You would need to submit these while filing the application form.

Also, 33 existing public health units will be strengthened and 17 new ones will be established and all yen states will also be linked to the portal.

• Proof of Identity: You need to prove that you are a resident of Kerala. You can submit your voter ID card or Aadhar card as a proof of the same

• BPL Card: As already mentioned, the scheme is for the underprivileged segment of society. Applicants would need to provide some sort of proof to justify the same. Families that hold a BPL card, must submit a copy of the same while registering for the scheme online.

• Residential Proof: You must submit the original copy of your residential proof along with the application form

• Income certificate: The eligibility criteria of the scheme predominantly depend on your annual income. The Kerala government will assess your annual income to determine whether you qualify for the scheme or not. If you want to apply for the health insurance plan, make it a point to submit your income certificate or other income-related details along with the application form.

Apart from the above, you would also need to submit a copy of your Ration card, a passport-sized photograph, along with the estimated amount of expenses at the hospital. All these must be submitted along with the application form.

Follow this step-by-step guide to find a hospital covered by the Karunya Health Insurance Scheme:

1. Visit the Official KASP Portal

Go to the Kerala State Health Agency’s Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi official website at karunya.kerala.gov.in or visit the SHA Kerala site via sha.kerala.gov.in

2. Navigate to the “Hospital List” or “Empanelled Hospitals” Section

On the homepage or menu, look for a section labelled “List of Hospitals” or “Empanelled Hospitals”. Click on it to access the hospital database

3. Filter by District or Speciality

Once the list loads, you can filter hospitals by district and region, and sometimes by speciality if needed

4. View and Select Empanelled Hospitals

You’ll see both public and private hospitals listed. As of the most recent data, the scheme includes around 194 public and 538 private hospitals (totalling ~742 hospitals nationwide), all eligible for cashless treatment under the scheme.

5. Check Portability of Coverage

Coverage is portable across India, so beneficiaries can avail cashless treatment at any empanelled hospital anywhere in the country, not just within Kerala.

6. (Optional) Contact State Health Agency / Helpline

If you face difficulty navigating the portal, you can call the Kerala SHA helpline:

• Toll‑free: 1056
• District/local numbers: 0471‑4063121, 0471‑2960221

Follow this step-by-step to understand the hospitalisation process under the Karunya Health Insurance Scheme:

• Verify hospital empanelment under KASP
• Present KASP health card + Aadhaar authentication
• Secure pre-authorisation for care
• Receive treatment with covered benefits (pre‑, during, post‑hospitalisation)
• The hospital submits a claim to the SHA(State Health Agency Kerala)
• Confirm zero cash payment on discharge
• Claim settled by authority (possible delays to be aware of)

Address
State Health Agency Kerala (SHA)
5th and 8th Floor, Artech Meenakshi Plaza
Opposite Government Women and Children’s Hospital
Thycaud, Thiruvananthapuram – 695 014

Contact Numbers
Office / Customer Support: 0471 406 3121
Scheme Helpline – DISHA (For Queries): 1056
Dedicated Eligibility Enquiry Line: 14555

The Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP) has played an impactful role in improving healthcare access in Kerala, especially for economically vulnerable populations. By offering cashless treatment of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year, the scheme has helped lakhs of individuals to access critical medical care without the burden of out-of-pocket expenses. It has significantly strengthened the public health infrastructure and created a framework for universal health coverage in the state.