New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme has started showing impact, with over 21 lakh patients being treated within 200 days of its launch, providing financial relief to the beneficiaries worth more than Rs 2,600 crore.
As per information provided by the National Health Authority (NHA), the nodal agency which monitors the scheme, 21.6 lakh patients have benefited from the scheme till 25 April, for which more than 3.12 crore e-cards have been made.
As many as 15,400 hospitals have been empanelled under the scheme so far, out of which about 50% are private ones. The scheme targets the poor, deprived rural families and identified the occupational category of urban workers’ families as per the latest socio-economic caste census data for both rural and urban areas as well as the active families under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana.
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda reviewed the progress of the scheme last week during which the officials informed him that more than 1 crore users have utilised Mera PM-JAY portal to check their entitlement and around 38 lakh calls have been answered by the national call centre. Many more calls were fielded by state call centres. PM had launched the scheme on 23 September 2018. The scheme provides a financial health cover of Rs 5 lakh to more than 10.74 crore families per year for secondary and tertiary medical care.
The Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Ghabreyesus has appreciated the success of the scheme. In a tweet recently, he said: “Very impressed with India’s initiative on Ayushman Bharat or universal health coverage. Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi. Great commitment! Thank you Minister of Health @JPNadda for meeting me today!”