Laxmi, a 25-year-old eunuch belonging to Mangti sect, earns her living by begging in local trains. Uncertain of her own future after she was detected with HIV four years back, she prays for commuters\u2019 good health and financial growth with every clap. <\/p>\n
Now Laxmi has a reason to cheer. Mumbai\u2019s People Living with HIV (PLHIV) will soon be covered under a unique group medical insurance policy tailor-made for them. The project \u2018Connect\u2019 designed to build public private partnership in combating HIV will be partly funded by NGO Population Services International (PSI). When an insured gets admitted in a Network hospital he\/she can go in for cashless hospitalization. <\/p>\n
\u201cI take care of my ailing mother from whatever I earn from begging but if I fall ill there is no one to take care of me. Even if I have small bouts of fever, I end up in a hospital and each visit costs me somewhere between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000. All my money goes in paying medical bills,\u201d says Laxmi.<\/p>\n
The scheme will cover PLHIVs attached to Mumbai Network of positive people (NPM+) and other NGO\u2019s from Mumbai and Thane area. It involves a private insurance company, Star Health and Allied Insurance, and is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). <\/p>\n