Maha flags financial concern in implementing 'Ayushman Bharat'

The Maharashtra government is in a fix over implementation of the Central government's ambitious "Ayushman Bharat" health insurance scheme and has sought clarity over its share in funding, a Health department official said today.

The Central scheme will cover 83 lakh families living below poverty line (BPL) in the state while the state's Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jeevandayi Yojana covers 2.23 crore families including farmers in the suicide-prone districts of Vidarbha.

"The Centre's insurance cover for BPL families is Rs 5 lakh per family and the state will have to bear 40 per cent of the total share. As the state government's scheme provides a medical cover of Rs 1.5 lakh per family, the financial burden (for implementing Ayushman Bharat) will be too much for the state," the official said.

He said Health Minister Deepak Sawant had asked for financial aid during a meeting in Delhi on June 14.

"We are not against the Central scheme, but our concerns about the financial burden are genuine and we expect them to be addressed," the official said.

The Ayushman Bharat scheme was announced by the Centre to provide health insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh to 10 crore poor families in the country.

Twenty states have recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre for the implementation of the scheme.

Apart from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan have their own mediclaim scheme, the official said.