NEW DELHI, Apr 5: The BJP government in Delhi on Saturday signed an agreement with the Centre to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in the national capital city to expand people’s access to healthcare system.
With this, Delhi has become the 35th state/Union Territory to implement the health insurance scheme. West Bengal is now the only state which has not implemented the scheme.
The Ayushman Bharat scheme provides free and cashless treatment for 1,961 medical procedures across 27 specialities, covering the costs of medicines, diagnostic services, hospitalisation, ICU care, surgeries and more. Under it, eligible families in Delhi will receive an annual health coverage of up to Rs 10 lakh — Rs 5 lakh from the Centre and the same amount as a top-up from the Delhi government.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Delhi government and the National Health Authority in the presence of Union Health Minister J P Nadda, and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, among others. The National Health Authority is the top body responsible for the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.
Following the signing of the MoU, a special campaign will be launched to enroll the beneficiaries under the scheme. The BJP, which came to power in Delhi in February after a gap of more than 26 years, approved the implementation of the scheme at its first cabinet meeting, right after Ms Gupta and six of her ministers took the oath of office on February 20.
(Manas Dasgupta)
