The Government of India is set to integrate all the health insurance schemes under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. The government got approval from the National Health Authority for the integration of schemes. This insurance scheme was launched by honorable Prime minister Narendra Modi in the year 2018 to provide free access to health care for poor families.
The integration of various health insurance schemes will help the government to provide health care access to those who financially unstable. This scheme provides cashless cover-up worth Rs.500,000 per family per year for secondary care hospitalization. Initially, poor families were the beneficiaries of this scheme. But now the non-poor population comprising varied sections such as informal sector workers, self-employed, professionals, employees in micro, small and medium enterprises will benefit from this flagship program. The government of India expecting 350 million beneficiaries under this scheme.
The beneficiaries of the scheme PM Jan Arogya Yojana will get an e-card that will be accustomed to avail services at an empanelled hospital, public or private, anywhere within the country. With it, you’ll walk into a hospital and acquire cashless treatment. The coverage includes 15 days of post-hospitalization and 3 days of pre-hospitalization. Newly added beneficiaries are government and contractual staff and other beneficiary groups such as building and construction workers, manual scavengers, road accident victims, and central armed police force personnel.
The decision comes out of a result of the meeting conducted by the National Health Authority, the implementing body of the scheme chaired by Union minister of health and family welfare Harsh Vardhan. Among the main agenda items discussed during the meeting was the impact of COVID-19 on AB PM-JAY, ways to resolve the challenges that arose out of the pandemic in the provision, and also the performance of impaneled private healthcare providers in numerous states concerning the pandemic. In-principle approval also given by the board for implementation of any healthcare scheme for workers including government employees and other beneficiaries extended by central ministries/ departments/ PSUs/ Autonomous bodies, supported their request, to be implemented on a standard Ayushman Bharat platform.
