Palaniyammal’s story

Association/company: The DHAN Foundation
Country: India

Palaniyammal and her family reside in rural Madurai (India). Before taking out health insurance cover through the DHAN Foundation they used to pay excessive amounts for treatments they could not afford. However, thanks to the DHAN Foundation project, supported by the ICMIF 5-5-5 Mutual Microinsurance Strategy, Palaniyammal’s family now has affordable health microinsurance which has changed their lives and recently saved the life of her sister-in-law.

Palaniyammal tells her story in her own words:

“My sister-in-law complained of stomach pains. She went to a private hospital and was put on a drip however she was still unwell. Later she had a scan at the hospital and they detected a fibroid tumour in her uterus. She was told that the tumour was at a mature stage and it needed to be immediately removed.

“Then we decided to go to SUHAM hospital (which is run by self-help group federations) and we went to our federation’s office. We explained that we had no money and they told us they would issue us with a loan. My sister-in-law was then admitted to SUHAM hospital where they removed two larger tumours and she received a blood transfusion. She stayed there for 12-13 days and the final bill was for INR 45,000 (USD 600). We were told we only had to pay INR 30,000 (USD 400) after our health insurance claim was deducted from the total amount.”

“We went to the hospital without any money however my sister-in-law was operated on and we all returned home. Everyone should take up microinsurance and go to SUHAM hospital to receive the same assistance we did.”