Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday that the delay in signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre for the new centrally sponsored Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission (AB–NHPM) is because the State is considering merging the scheme with its Mahatma Phule Jan Aarogya Scheme to expand the reach.
The central scheme offers annual health cover of ₹5 lakh per family. The scheme aims to benefit more than 10 crore poor and vulnerable families as per the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC) database. The Maharashtra government’s scheme, formerly known as Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayi Health Scheme, provides insurance cover worth ₹1.5 lakh for around 132 medical procedures, and the beneficiaries are selected based on ration cards.
During question hour in the Assembly, some members raised the issue of the State scheme being more beneficial for insurance companies than patients. Mr. Fadnavis replied, “We have tied up with government-run insurance companies for this scheme with limits on profit and loss. In case of excessive loss to the company, the government will compensate it, while in case of excess profit, the company shares it with the government.”
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Hasan Mushrif sought to know if the government had rejected the Central scheme, as an MoU is yet to be signed.
The Chief Minister said, “It is true that the MoU has not been signed. But the reason is that we are looking to merge the positive aspects of both the schemes to ensure a wider reach.”
A committee of secretaries has been formed to work out how to merge the schemes.
Replying to another query regarding the implementation of the State scheme, Mr. Fadnavis said the number of hospitals where it can be availed has not been consistent across the State, as over 255 tehsils do not have empanelled hospitals. “We are currently planning to sort out the problem to ensure the scheme is implemented widely,” he said.