The government is making a big plan for the beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat Yojana. The government is planning to increase the insurance coverage under the scheme from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
Apart from this, this cover can be up to Rs 15 lakh for women. There is also a plan to increase four lakh beds in private hospitals under the scheme.
Expansion of Ayushman Bharat Yojana
A report in The Indian Express said that the Union Health Ministry aims to increase the number of beneficiaries from 55 crores to 100 crores in the third term of the NDA government.
Ayushman Bharat is the world’s largest health scheme
A group of government officials (GoS) has set goals for the next five years and the deadlines to achieve them. The report of this group lists important action points.
This group, comprising nine ministries including health, AYUSH, sports, culture, and education, is expected to make a presentation to the Cabinet Secretary soon.
Ayushman Bharat Yojana is the government’s flagship health insurance scheme. It is the world’s largest scheme.
12.34 crore families are getting benefits
Under the scheme, about 12.34 crore families of 55 crore beneficiaries are given health cover of up to Rs 5 lakh annually.
All these families fall in the bottom 40% population of the country. Under the scheme, 7.37 crore people have been approved for hospitalization till June 30.
A total of Rs 1 lakh crore has been spent on them. BJP claims this scheme is a success of the NDA government.
The party’s manifesto during the Lok Sabha elections also promised to extend the benefits of the scheme to all citizens above 70 years of age.
Cover for women can be up to Rs 15 lakh
Various groups of government officials were given the task of setting targets and deadlines as per the BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra’.
One of the key action points for the Health Ministry under the theme ‘Greater Access and Participation’ is to increase the annual insurance cover limit to Rs 10 lakh per family.
This cover for women may be increased to Rs 15 lakh in case of ‘specific diseases and specific conditions’ in the next five years.
About 49% of Ayushman card holders are women
According to government data, about 49% of Ayushman card holders are women and about 48% of those approved for hospitalization are also women.
These figures were released by the Health Ministry late last year. Apart from this, a target has been set to increase the number of beneficiaries to 100 crore.
Private hospital beds will be gradually increased by 4 lakh. Currently, there are about 7.22 lakh private hospital beds under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
The ministry has set a target to increase them to 9.32 lakh by 2026-27 and 11.12 lakh by 2028-29.
Suggestion to increase the number of Jan Aushadhi Centre
The committee also suggested that the number of Jan Aushadhi Kendra’s be increased from 10,000 to 25,000 by the end of this government’s term. Good quality medicines are available at these centres at affordable prices.