Swasthya Sathi: ‘1 cr hospitalisations crossed, over `13 cr cashless aid given’

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced that the state’s flagship scheme “Swasthya Sathi” has achieved a significant milestone of crossing one crore hospitalizations as of October 31, and the state government has already provided cashless healthcare benefits of Rs 13,156 crore to the people of Bengal under the scheme.

In a post on X, Banerjee wrote: “Swasthya Sathi” -- the all-inclusive, unique health assurance scheme of Government of West Bengal has achieved one crore hospitalisations mark on 31st October 2025, where cashless health care benefit of Rs. 13,156 crore has been provided to the citizens of WEST BENGAL entirely from the State Budget.”

Highlighting the inclusivity of the initiative, the chief minister stated that any resident of the state not covered under another state-sponsored health scheme is eligible for Swasthya Sathi benefits.

“Any resident of West Bengal is eligible to avail the benefits of ‘Swasthya Sathi’, if not covered by any other state-sponsored scheme,” she said, adding that currently the programme covers over 8.5 crore residents,” Banerjee added.

Banerjee has credited the scheme’s success to the state government’s robust IT platform and time-bound payments to private hospitals. She further wrote on social media: “Any resident of West Bengal is eligible to avail the benefits of “Swasthya Sathi”, if not covered by any other State-sponsored scheme. More than 8.5 crore residents of West Bengal are covered under the scheme. Robust IT platform and time-bound payment to hospital partners have ensured faster and reliable service delivery to its beneficiaries.

Government of West Bengal is always with you in your difficult times.” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s brainchild ‘Swasthya Sathi’ scheme has already emerged as a “lifeline” for the people of Bengal, especially those belonging to the unprivileged category, helping more than 6,000 patients undergo critical surgeries completely free of cost in the past one year. Banerjee always opposed the Centre’s “Ayushman Bharat”, describing it as discriminatory against those who own basic assets such as scooters or smartphones, and contrasting it sharply with the inclusiveness of “Swasthya Sathi,” which she said leaves no one behind.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister on Sunday claimed on social media that the ‘Bengal model’ to combat Type 1 diabetes has emerged as a global model to emulate, following Harvard Medical School Associate Professor Gene Bukhman’s recent visit to SSKM Hospital, where he praised the state-piloted programme.