Karunya Health Scheme 2026 - Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP) Benefits, Eligibility & Details

Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP) is the health care scheme of Kerala government, similar to Ayushman Bharat Yojana at the national level. The Karunya Health Scheme provides a health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospital treatment. KASP health insurance scheme covers more than 42 lakh poor and at risk families, which works out to roughly 64 lakh eligible people, forming the bottom 40% of the Kerala population.

Kerala government has merged all its sponsored health care schemes into one single plan under KASP. This article explains the benefits, eligibility, key features, and how to apply for the Karunya Health Scheme.

KASP to merge into Oommen Chandy Health Insurance Scheme

Kerala's UDF government plans to bring KASP and the Karunya Benevolent Fund under the new Oommen Chandy Health Insurance Scheme, which will give a cover of up to ₹25 lakh per family a year, five times the KASP limit. An expert committee set up in September 2026 has four months to prepare the project report. Until the merger is notified, KASP cards keep working as usual at empanelled hospitals.

Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP) in Kerala

Kerala government decided to bring all the government sponsored health care schemes under one roof and run them as a single scheme. The schemes that were merged into KASP are given below.

• Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), a central and state combined scheme where the premium is shared in the ratio of 60:40.
• Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS), a Kerala government fully sponsored scheme where the full premium is paid by the state.
• Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS), which gave senior beneficiaries aged 60 years and above in RSBY or CHIS families an extra cover of Rs. 30,000 per person.
• Karunya Benevolent Fund (KBF), a trust model run through the Lottery department.
• Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).

By merging all these schemes, Kerala government has now formed Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP). The scheme is fully financed by the government and gives cashless treatment at empanelled public and private hospitals.

Ayushman Bharat PM Jan Arogya Yojana in Kerala

Ayushman Bharat PMJAY is the largest health care scheme in the world. It provides a health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospital treatment to over 10.74 crore poor and at risk families, which is roughly 50 crore eligible people, forming the bottom 40% of the Indian population. The households are chosen on the basis of the deprivation and occupational criteria of the Socio Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011) for rural and urban areas.

Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi Launch

PMJAY was earlier known as the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) before it was renamed. It took over the then existing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), which had been launched in 2008. The cover under PMJAY also includes families that were covered in RSBY but are not present in the SECC 2011 database. PMJAY is fully funded by the government and the cost of running it is shared between the central and state governments. Kerala signed an agreement with the National Health Authority (NHA) on 31st October 2018 and set up the State Health Agency (SHA) to run the scheme in the state as Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP).

From 1st July 2020, the scheme is run directly by Kerala government under trust mode through the newly formed State Health Agency (SHA). The claims of empanelled health care providers are handled by a TPA or ISA. The current TPA selected through the tender process is Heritage Health Services Pvt Ltd.

Key Features of KASP PMJAY

Karunya Health Scheme is designed to reduce the money burden of hospital treatment for poor families. The main features of the scheme are given below.

• Karunya Health Scheme is fully financed by the government, so eligible families do not pay any premium.
• It gives a cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospital treatment at public and private empanelled hospitals.
• KASP PMJAY gives cashless access to health care services at the point of service, that is, the hospital.
• KASP PMJAY helps reduce the big out of pocket spending on medical treatment.
• It covers up to 3 days of pre hospitalisation and 15 days of post hospitalisation costs such as diagnostics and medicines.
• There is no limit on family size, age or gender.
• All pre existing conditions are covered from the first day.
• Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country, so a beneficiary can visit any empanelled public or private hospital in India for cashless treatment.
• Services cover around 1,573 procedures, including all costs related to treatment such as drugs, supplies, diagnostic services, doctor fees, room charges, surgeon charges, OT and ICU charges.
• Public hospitals are paid for health care services at par with private hospitals.

Benefit Cover under KASP PMJAY

Benefit cover under various government funded health insurance schemes in India has always been set on an upper ceiling limit, ranging from an annual cover of Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 3 lakh per family across different states. This created a fragmented system. KASP PMJAY gives a cashless cover of up to Rs. 5 lakh to each eligible family per year for listed secondary and tertiary care conditions. The cover includes all costs on the following parts of the treatment.

• Medical examination, treatment and consultation
• Pre hospitalisation
• Medicine and medical consumables
• Non intensive and intensive care services
• Diagnostic and laboratory tests
• Medical implantation services where needed
• Accommodation benefits
• Complications that come up during treatment
• Post hospitalisation follow up care up to 15 days

Family Floater Benefits under Karunya Health Scheme

The benefit of Rs. 5,00,000 is on a family floater basis, which means it can be used by one or all members of the family. RSBY had a family cap of five members. Based on the learning from those schemes, KASP PMJAY has been designed in such a way that there is no cap on family size or age of members. In addition, pre-existing diseases are covered from the very first day. This means any eligible person who has a medical condition before being covered by KASP PMJAY can now get treatment for all those conditions under this scheme from the day they are enrolled.

Karunya Benevolent Fund (KBF)

Karunya Benevolent Fund is an assurance scheme of the state government that gives money help to poor people suffering from serious ailments by raising funds through the Kerala lottery. The scheme is managed by the State Lotteries Department (Taxes). Karunya Benevolent Fund gives financial support to poor people suffering from acute ailments like Cancer, Haemophilia, Kidney and Heart diseases, and for Palliative Care. KBF details can be checked at karunya.kerala.gov.in.

The amount for the health scheme is raised through the lottery. This welfare measure helps those who suffer from ailments whose treatment cost is too high for the lower and even middle strata of society with an annual family income of less than Rs. 3 lakh.

An eligible person can approach any KASP empanelled hospital for cashless treatment. The number of health care providers under KBF has gone up, the number of treatment packages has also increased, and IT integration has made the scheme more patient friendly.

Highlights of Karunya Health Scheme

Detail	Information
Scheme Name	Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP)
State	Kerala
Benefit Amount	Rs. 5 lakh per family per year
Beneficiaries	More than 42 lakh poor families (about 64 lakh people)
Treatment Cover	Secondary and tertiary care hospital treatment
Application Mode	Through empanelled hospitals and official portal
Official Website	sha.kerala.gov.in

How to Apply for Karunya Health Scheme

KASP is a cashless health scheme, so there is no separate online application form for most eligible families. The eligible families are identified from the SECC 2011 list and the state government's own beneficiary list. The steps to use the scheme are given below.

STEP 1 - Check whether the family is in the eligible list. The list is prepared on the basis of the SECC 2011 data and the state government's welfare list.

STEP 2 - Go to any KASP empanelled public or private hospital that gives cashless treatment under the scheme.

STEP 3 - Show the identity proof and the family details at the hospital counter. The hospital staff will check the eligibility and start the treatment.

STEP 4 - The hospital will raise the claim with the State Health Agency and the TPA, and the treatment is covered up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year.

For the latest hospital list, eligibility details, and the revised guidelines, the official page of the State Health Agency can be checked at sha.kerala.gov.in. The revised guidelines issued by the Kerala government in January 2026 can also be seen in the revised KASP guidelines PDF.

Contact Us

State Health Agency Kerala (SHA),
5th and 8th Floor, Artech Meenakshi Plaza,
Opposite Government Women And Children's Hospital, Thycaud,
Thiruvananthapuram, 695 014
Ph. No. 0471 4063121

Helpline Number - 0471 4063121, 1056

E-mail Id - statehealthagencykerala@gmail.com

FAQ's

Who can get the benefit of the Karunya Health Scheme?

The scheme covers poor and at risk families that form the bottom 40% of the Kerala population. The eligible families are identified from the SECC 2011 data and the state government's welfare list.

How much health cover does KASP give?

KASP gives a cashless health cover of up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospital treatment.

Is there any premium to pay under the Karunya Health Scheme?

No. Karunya Health Scheme is fully financed by the government, so eligible families do not have to pay any premium.