The National Health Authority (NHA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government of Telangana to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) with immediate effect.
Telangana has integrated the Ayushman Bharat scheme with its state scheme ‘Aarogyasri’ and the new name for the converged scheme is Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY Aarogyasri.
With Telangana now implementing the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, the programme now includes a total of 33 states and union territories.
Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY Aarogyasri scheme: Key Highlights
•Under the converged Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY Aarogyasri scheme, the eligible beneficiaries will be entitled to avail free healthcare coverage of up to Rs 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.
•The scheme aims to cover the poor or vulnerable households who are unable to afford even essential healthcare.
•The scheme covers about 1,354 medical and surgical packages that are categorised under 25 specialties such as cardiology, neurosurgery, oncology (chemotherapy for 50 types of cancers), burns, among others. It also covers COVID-19 treatment.
•The health services can be availed at any of the 22,704 empanelled public and private hospitals across the country.
•The scheme enables cashless and paperless access to the healthcare services at the point of care
•The National Health Authority (NHA) will along with State Health Agency undertake necessary action to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries are provided free healthcare services under the converged scheme.
•The converged scheme is expected to result in effective utilisation of resources for providing quality healthcare services.
•Under the scheme, the eligible population of the state will get the benefit of free healthcare services across the country.
•The NHA will also provide several auxiliary support to the State Health Agency (SHA) such as support related to fraud and abuse control.
How to check eligibility under the scheme?
The beneficiary can call the toll-free number-14555 to check their eligibility under the scheme. People can also call on the toll-free line to check information regarding how to avail the services of the scheme.
SignificanceAyushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme's launch in Telangana is a significant milestone towards achieving Ayushman Bharat. The inclusion of Telangana is expected to approximately benefit 26 lakhs of beneficiary families, almost around 1.3 crore individuals as per SECC 2011 data. The National Health Authority is attempting to get all states and union territories under the umbrella of the scheme so that all the eligible beneficiaries can avail free healthcare services under the scheme. This is especially important during the ongoing second wave of the COVID pandemic, which has affected a majority of the population across the country, reaching even tier-II cities and rural areas. The COVID-19 testing and treatment is free of cost for the beneficiaries for the Ayushman Bharat scheme at private laboratories and empanelled hospitals. |
Speaking on the inclusion of Telangana, NHA CEO Dr. RS Sharma said, “We are happy to onboard State of Telangana for the rollout of AB PM-JAY in the State. The beneficiaries from the State are now eligible to avail free healthcare services pan India through our network of more than 22,000 hospitals."
He said that this will not only benefit the eligible families in the state but will also enable the delivery of healthcare services to PM-JAY beneficiaries from other States/UTs living in Telangana. "The providers’ base has also increased. Our call center has started getting calls from the eligible population in the State. We are committed to taking the benefit of the scheme to all eligible beneficiaries," he added.
What is the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme? |
| •The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) was launched on September 23, 2018. It is the flagship health protection scheme of the central government that aims to provide health cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year, for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. The scheme aims to cover 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families. •The scheme allows the beneficiaries to get cashless and paperless access to the healthcare services at the empaneled hospitals. The scheme includes 874 health benefits packages with defined rates. •The scheme comprises around 874 health benefits packages with defined rates covering 1,685 procedures. It is being implemented across 33 States and UTs and has till now provided more than 1.81 crore authorized hospital treatments. •The National Health Authority (NHA) is the apex agency of the central government that is responsible for the design, rollout and implementation of the Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) across the country. |
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