The mother of a Type 1 diabetic has written to the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights alleging that her son was being discriminated against in getting health insurance.
In her petition to the commission chairperson, the woman from Murukkumpuzha, near here, said a company did not give them family insurance as her husband was a cancer patient. When they tried to take health insurance for her and her son, the child was denied insurance because he was diabetic. When enquired, the company said insurance coverage was not available for juvenile diabetics. Only after they turn 18, the company will consider bringing them under insurance cover. Even public sector insurance companies gave the same reply.
Autoimmune disease
The petitioner said her eight-year-old son got Type 1 diabetes for no fault of his own. It was a chronic autoimmune disease that prevented pancreas from making insulin. As it was a lifelong condition, children with Type 1 diabetes faced physical and mental health challenges. These children required precise care. The government had rolled out the Mittayi project for such children. More than 2,500 children had registered under Mittayi, but there were hundreds of others who were above 18 and could not register under it.
Violation of equal justice
The petitioner said the rights of such children were being denied. Parents wanted these children to get a good education, good medical care, and insurance cover. However, discriminating against them was a very painful experience for the parents, and a violation of equal justice envisaged in the Constitution. There were hundreds of other such children who were being denied insurance coverage, she said, calling for the commission’s intervention and legal action against insurance companies that discriminated against Type 1 diabetic children.
The petitioner has written to the Chief Minister and the Social Justice Principal Secretary as well.
