Ayushman Bharat not to cover rare diseases: Govt

New Delhi, April 3

Notifying the National Policy for Rare Diseases-2021, the government today said rare diseases would not be covered under the Ayushman Bharat mission that currently provides over 1,500 packages for Rs 5 lakh annual free hospital cover to 10 crore vulnerable families.

The policy provides for financial support up to Rs 20 lakh under the umbrella scheme of Rastriya Arogya Nidhi for the treatment of rare diseases that required one-time treatment. “Beneficiaries for such financial assistance would not be limited to BPL families, but the benefit will be extended to about 40 per cent of the population, eligible under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

“This financial support for treatment of rare diseases is proposed under the umbrella scheme of Rastriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) and not under Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY,” said the government. — TNS