Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme: In a magical move towards expanding people's access to healthcare in Delhi, the BJP-led government in the national capital inked a MoU with the Centre on Saturday (April 5) to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). With this, Delhi has become the 35th state/Union Territory to implement the health insurance scheme. West Bengal is now the only state which has not implemented the scheme.
How Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme will going to benefit Delhiites?
The Ayushman Bharat scheme provides free and cashless treatment for 1,961 medical procedures across 27 specialities, covering the costs of medicines, diagnostic services, hospitalisation, ICU care, surgeries and more. Under it, eligible families in Delhi will receive an annual health coverage of up to Rs 10 lakh -- Rs 5 lakh from the Centre and the same amount as a top-up from the Delhi government.
A total of 91 hospitals- 46 private ones, 34 run by the Delhi government and 11 Centre-run facilities- have already been empanelled under the scheme.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Delhi government and the National Health Authority in the presence of Union Health Minister JP Nadda, and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, among others. The National Health Authority is the apex body responsible for the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme. Following the signing of the MoU, a special campaign was launched to enroll the beneficiaries under the scheme.
The BJP, which came to power in Delhi in February after a gap of more than 26 years, approved the implementation of the scheme at its first cabinet meeting, right after Gupta and six of her ministers took the oath of office on February 20.
Delhi CM on Ayushman Bharat scheme:
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said, "A scheme that was pending for years could have become the lifeline of Delhi. But the previous government did not implement it. The people of Delhi are an example of how the common people would have suffered if the central government and the state government had not worked together."
Under this scheme, the central government provides free treatment worth Rs 5 lakh, and the Delhi government will add an additional Rs 5 lakh, which means people in Delhi will get treatment worth up to Rs 10 lakh for free under this scheme.