It is high time that the load on the healthcare NGOs is eased by creating a Rehabilitation Fund for disabled through CSR projects of companies. This will help the suffering patients once again become economic contributors and put a smile back on their faces
Disability inflicts huge costs. Healthcare expenses including diagnostics, medicines and therapy, aids and appliances are spiraling. There have been occasions of people selling their property, wiping off their savings and taking loans to keep going. There is a need to create alternative sources of funding for them. A rehabilitation fund created using insurance and corporate funding could turn out to be new paradigm in Indian healthcare sector to help the disabled.
Rehabilitation Insurance Fund can help any permanent health condition (like spinal cord injury), which does not require hospitalisation post-surgery and yet is a huge financial drain on the person to exist and survive lifelong. The cost of living expenses which requires regular (sometimes) daily physiotherapy, diagnostic tests, doctor visits for examination, aids and appliances like wheelchairs, shower chairs, specialised cots and cushions, medication and ointments, specialised expensive diet, catheters, jelly and supplies of personal hygiene etc. these are lifelong expenses. There are additional costs such as transportation and caregiver expenses. The disability may also lead to losing a job and thus the person is dependent on the family. The financial drain is tremendous and such factors support the hypothesis that launch of Rehabilitation Fund would mitigate this huge financial expense and give a source of hope to continue with a reasonably good quality of life for such citizens.
There are already such examples. Nottwil in Switzerland came into existence because a single doctor made it his duty to set up a foundation for people with spinal cord Injury. The foundation is based on an insurance model. Everyone can pay CHF45 as insurance fee per year to be entitled to a CHF2,00,000 payment in case of a traumatic spinal cord injury.
In order to enable and empower persons with disability to live as independently and as fully as possible, health services and their access to persons with disabilities assume a very significant role. In this context, the Rehabilitation Fund facility becomes important but presently such products are not available for persons with disabilities.
Proposed private sector rehabilitation fund model:
- WHO (World Health Organisation) has declared spinal cord injury as the most devastating injury. Currently there are 1.5 million people with spinal cord injury in India. Each year we add 20,000 due to road traffic accidents, falls and diseases of the spine.
- Spinal cord injury affects sensation, movement, bladder, bowel, bones, skin, fertility, respiration, and sometimes physiological trauma too. Consistent and lifelong rehabilitation is the only safe and proven method for a good quality of life and it costs money. Lots of money! Spinal cord injury is the very expensive in terms of life expenses.
- Indians spend approximately Rs50,000 (paraplegic-spinal cord injury waist down) to Rs1 lakh (quadriplegic-spinal cord injury chest down) per month. Average Rs50,000 per month.
- It is mandatory for listed companies to contribute 2% of their profits on corporate social responsibility (CSR).1.5 million people with spinal cord injury X Rs50,000= Rs750 crore is the approximate amount of fund needed pan-India.
- A friend with spinal cord injury registers with this CSR and Rehab Fund portal uploads their bills with the disability certificate, medical reports and photographs.
- The friend with spinal injury gets the re-imbursement. A neutral NGO or expert body verifies the expenses and the rehab amount is either paid monthly/ quarterly or yearly.
The rehabilitation expenses include:
- Physiotherapy
- Counselling both psychological and peer.
- Pathology
- Urology, including urodynamics
- Occupation therapy
- X-rays
- Periodic visits to doctors and specialists-exercise
- Home rehabilitation (cost of equipments)
- Complications for bones (injections)
- Pressures sores and bed sores, which sometimes require surgery, hospitalisation and treatment.
- Alternative medicine treatment like homeopathy
- Assistive technology like wheel chairs, calipers, crutches, etc.
- Home modifications, retrofitting for ramps, kitchen, washroom, railings and many more.
- Sports rehabilitation
- Medicines and medical supplies.
- Transportation for the health visits.
- Vocational training to learn a new skill, modified work station, equipments, specialised software etc.
It is high time that the load on the NGO sector is eased by creating a
Rehabilitation Fund through CSR projects of companies thus enabling a huge potential to once again become an economic contributor for our nation and put a smile back on the suffering patients.
We can then in unison chant: “Rehabilitate. Relive. Rejoice”
(Dr Ketna L Mehta is an educationist, editor, author and Founder Trustee of Nina Foundation that works for the rehabilitation of economically and socially disadvantaged people with spinal injuries. Her PhD Thesis was “Market Potential Study for a World Class Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Centre in Mumbai”. She is also Editor and Associate Dean Research, WeSchool. Email- [email protected]., www.ninafoundation.org)
