People in Delhi, WB, Odisha, Telangana not getting Ayushman

Poor families in Delhi, Telangana, Odisha and West Bengal are unable to get medical benefits including insurance under Ayushman Bharat as these states have not implemented the scheme, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Replying to queries, he informed the House during the Question Hour that West Bengal had withdrawn the scheme after implementing it.

"Ayushman Bharat is being implemented in the entire country. There are four states including Delhi which have not implemented the Ayushman Bharat Scheme -- Delhi, Telangana, Odisha and West Bengal.

"It has benefited 10.75 crore poor families but the people in the four states including Delhi are certainly deprived of the scheme," the Minister said.

He said as many as 65.5 lakh admissions in hospitals were done under this in the last one year.

"As on 05.12.2019, total number of hospitals admissions under AB-PMJAY are 65,45,733 amounting to cost of treatment of Rs. 9,549 crore. The average cost per admission is Rs 14,588 (approximately)," he added.

Over 20,000 hospitals have been empanelled till now for the scheme, he said and added that there are equal number of government and private hospitals.

In reply to a supplementary, he said that roughly 60 per cent of the payment under Ayushman Bharat scheme is to private hospitals and 40 per cent is to government hospitals.

Ayushman Bharat Yojana comprises two components -- Comprehensive Primary Healthcare through Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centers and Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

He said services at Ayushman Bharat- Health and Wellness Centres are free and universal to all.

The Minister said Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana provides health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year to around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families identified from Socio Economic Caste Census database on the basis of select deprivation and occupational criteria in rural and urban areas respectively.

In addition to these 10.74 crore families, many states have identified more groups of beneficiaries for their similar health cover schemes, which are implemented in alliance with AB-PMJAY.