PM Modi calls Ayushman Bharat 'game changer'

NEW DELHI/RANCHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Ayushman Bharat from here on Sunday, and termed it a "game-changer initiative to serve the poor".

"PMJAY-Ayushman Bharat is the biggest government-sponsored healthcare scheme in the world. The number of beneficiaries is almost equal to the population of Canada, Mexico and the US taken together," Modi said.

In an apparent reference to the Congress, he said without empowering the poor previous governments had indulged in "vote bank politics".

"It is the BJP government that is focused on empowering them (poor people)," he said.

The magnitude of the scheme could be gauged from the fact that more than 1,300 ailments are covered under it, including heart diseases, kidney and liver disorders and diabetes, the PM said.

"People are calling the scheme Modicare and by other names, but for me, it is an opportunity to serve the poor. Even the ones living in the lowest strata of the society will benefit from the scheme," he said.

The Ayushman Bharat scheme will become operational from September 25 on the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, said NITI Aayog member Dr Vinod Paul, who is the chief architect of the scheme.

The Ayushman Bharat programme will be funded with 60 per cent contribution coming from the Centre and the remaining from the states.

The ambitious scheme, renamed the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyan, targets economically backward families from both rural and urban India.

Eligible people can avail the benefits in government and listed private hospitals. The beneficiaries are identified based on four "deprivation categories."

One would only need to establish one's identity to avail benefits under the scheme, and it could be through Aadhaar card or election ID card or ration card. Having an Aadhaar card is not mandatory. In case of hospitalisation, members of the beneficiary families do not need to pay anything under the scheme, provided one goes to a government or an empanelled private hospital.

States like Telangana, Odisha, Delhi, Kerala and Punjab have not signed the launch with the Centre.

"A total of 13,000 hospitals have become a part of the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Our government has taken a holistic approach to lay stress on affordable and preventive health care," he added.