Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s signature scheme Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) or Ayushman Bharat is fully prepared for the launch of the scheme across 26 states and 450 districts on September 23.
Ayushman Bharat, popularly known as ModiCare, aims to provide Rs 5 lakh coverage to 10 crore poor families or nearly half a billion people and is considered an important scheme politically for Narendra Modi to showcase to voters as he heads for the general elections next year.
HIGHLIGHTS:
1. Ayushman Bharat Yojana has 10.74 crore families as beneficiaries.
2. Under the scheme, each family will have an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per year and there is no cap on the size of the family.
3. The transactions would be cashless.
4. The insurance scheme has 1,350 packages to cover treatment including those for cancer surgeries, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, cardiac surgeries, stenting; neuro (brain) surgeries, spine surgeries, dental surgeries, eye surgeries, specialised tests such as MRI, CT scans etc.
5. A majority of states except Odisha, Delhi, Punjab, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka are on board for the scheme.
6. Aadhaar card is not mandatory for a beneficiary to avail services under Ayushman Bharat. The scheme will be entirely paperless, cashless and IT-based.
7. The finance model involves private insurers, trust/society and a mixed model insurance. Ayushman Bharat will be implemented by national and state health agencies.
So far, nearly 9,000 private hospitals have got empanelled in the scheme, and another 3,000 applications are pending with the agency.
8. The scheme is being launched against a background of soaring costs of medical treatment in the country with in-patient hospitalisation expenditure rising by 300% over the past decade.
