The government will provide financial support of up to Rs 15 lakh under its Rashtriya Arogaya Nidhi scheme for the one-time treatment of rare diseases, according to the much-awaited draft Rare Diseases Policy. Under the draft National Policy for Rare Diseases released on Monday, beneficiaries would not be limited to Below Poverty Line families, but will also cover 40 per cent of the population eligible as per norms of the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana for their treatment in government tertiary hospitals only.

The Union Health Ministry intends to notify certain medical institutes as Centers of Excellence for Rare Diseases. These include AIIMS, New Delhi, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. "The cost of treatment of the patient in these centres of excellence will be met out of donations received through the online digital platform," according to the draft policy.

Source :PTI