New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the ambitious entitlement scheme — Ayushman Bharat —Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)—in Ranchi, Jharkhand on Sunday.
The scheme aimed at providing health cover of ₹5 Lakhs per family per year to about 500 million economically deprived people is touted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as the world’s largest healthcare programme.
Dubbed as “Modicare”, AB-PMJAY is one of the giant fresh ideas floated by the Modi government, which it deems, could be a potential game changer in the upcoming electoral battles, including the general election due early next year.
“People are calling the scheme Modicare and by other names, but for me it is an opportunity to serve the poor. This scheme that comes into effect from Sunday, is the world’s biggest health assurance scheme and will be a game changer,” Modi said.
“The number of beneficiaries of this scheme is roughly equal to the population of the European Union, or the population of America, Canada and Mexico, taken together,” said Modi adding that the health scheme will set an example for countries across the world.
Adding to the trail to his scathing attacks on the Congress party and giving an apparent reference to its regime, Modi said that without empowering the poor, previous governments had indulged in “vote bank politics” and it is his government which is focused on empowering the poor.
Reiterating the slogan “Sabka saath, sabka vikas” (together for all, development for all), the prime minister said that Ayushman scheme is not based on any communal or caste lines. “The programme will not differentiate between people, based on religion, caste, location. The poor of my country must get all facilities that the rich enjoy,” said Modi. Following the launch, the beneficiaries have been sent a two-page customised letter from the prime minister outlining the importance and benefits of the cashless and paperless project.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister doled out token health cards to some of the beneficiaries after his arrival at Prabhat Tara Maidan in Ranchi.
The scheme is estimated to cost about ₹12,000 crore annually. “It would cover 1300 illnesses, including serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease including pre-existing illnesses. Private hospitals too would be part of this scheme. The amount of 5 lakhs would cover all investigations, medicine, pre-hospitalization expenses etc,” Modi said.
More than 13,000 hospitals across the country have joined the scheme so far. Information regarding the scheme can be sought by dialling 14555, or through their Common Service Centre.
The objectives of the Scheme are to reduce out of pocket hospitalisation expenses, fulfil unmet needs and improve access of identified families to quality inpatient care and day care surgeries. The beneficiaries will be able to move across borders and access services across the country through the provider network seamlessly. The ministry of health and family welfare has included 1,354 packages in the scheme under which treatment for coronary bypass, knee replacements and stenting, among others, would be provided at 15-20% cheaper rates than the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).
The scheme will target poor, deprived rural families and identified occupational category of urban workers’ families, 8.03 crore in rural and 2.33 crore in urban areas, as per the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data. Eleven occupational categories of workers include rag pickers, beggars, domestic workers, street vendors, cobblers, hawkers, other service providers working on streets, construction workers, plumbers, masons, labours, painters, welders, security guards, coolies and other head-load workers and sanitation workers.
Modi had announced the launch of the scheme from ramparts of the Red Fort during his Independence day speech this year on 25th September, Deendayal Upadhyay’s birth anniversary but the scheme was launched two days before it.
As many as 31 states and Union Territories have signed MoUs with the Centre for implementation of the programme. Remaining states and UTs which include Telangana, Odisha, Delhi, Kerala and Punjab have not signed, so the scheme will not be implemented in those states till they come on board.