Govt linked health sector with development in last 10 years, says Mandaviya

NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said the government has worked in the last 10 years by linking the health sector with development to ensure every citizen gets healthcare facilities with the same quality standard.

The minister made the remarks as he virtually addressed the fifth Foundation Day celebration of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of AIIMS, Jhajjar.

It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream that the country should become Ayushman, where health facilities become affordable, accessible and available to every citizen, Mandaviya said.

“There should be no discrimination between rich and poor for treatment. To ensure that everyone gets healthcare facilities with the same quality standard, the government has worked in the last 10 years by linking the health sector with development,” he stressed.

On the achievements of the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY and Ayushman Arogya Mandir scheme, Mandaviya said, “By providing a family health insurance of Rs 5 lakh annually to 60 crore people of the country, free treatment for serious diseases has been provided. Under this scheme, today even the poor get their treatment in those hospitals where earlier only rich people used to get their treatment.”

“Till now, more than six crore people have received treatment under this scheme, due to which these poor people have saved more than Rs 1,12,500 crore,” he said. “One of the purposes behind establishing over 1.64 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs is to ensure that primary cancer screening is done in first stage itself. Today, complex operations are being conducted in district hospitals as well,” he added.