About 32,000 people in West Bengal are receiving treatment for cancer through the state-run Swasthya Sathi health insurance scheme, as reported by the Health Department. One of the most prevalent forms of cancer is breast cancer.

Cancers of the head and neck come next. About 60% of people who use the service are women, which shows that the program is important for women's health. The plan was made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to help keep poor families out of bankruptcy because of medical bills. 

Swasthya Sathi lets people go to both government and private hospitals for free.Chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which use drugs or controlled radiation to destroy cancer cells, are among the services provided, as are several types of cancer surgery. The cost of medication is also covered.The plan's yearly spending is about ₹3,000 crore, and about ₹500 crore of that goes to cancer treatment because it is so expensive and lasts so long.

Cancer and heart illness have the largest spending under the system, with individual cases costing up to ₹1.5 crore. A private cancer hospital in Rajarhat offers Swasthya Sathi therapy costing ₹7-8 crore each month, while organisations like Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan and Shishumangal Hospital serve a huge number of cardholders. Cardiac operations such as bypass surgery, valve replacement, and angioplasty (the opening of blocked heart arteries) are commonly covered. Dialysis, a life-saving technique that cleans the blood when kidneys fail, costs approximately ₹26 lakh per day and runs at around 2,200 sessions every day.

Officials emphasise that treatment is not focused in a few elite hospitals. Approximately 40 medium and large private hospitals with national accreditation are empanelled, along with nearly 2,500 additional facilities. While these 40 hospitals contribute around 31% of the overall cost, the other 69% is dispersed among the larger network. 

However, independent research indicates that access is inconsistent. According to studies on publicly financed health insurance in India, private hospital participation is generally limited due to low reimbursement rates, difficult paperwork, and delayed reimbursements. A 2025 survey of slum inhabitants in Hooghly district found that many beneficiaries were unaware that diagnostics, drugs and transportation were provided.Others said they had to pay for it themselves or were turned away by private hospitals, which goes against the program's claim of free care. 

Reserachers note that digitisation has improved deliverance of the scheme by allowing online cards, digital records, and quicker tracking. This has lowered scams and delays. But experts say that technology can't fix gaps in knowledge, healthcare benefits, and fairness. As the spending nears thousands of crores, the important question isn't just how much was spent, but who gets the benefit and who is still waiting.