Expanded Aarogyasri : 6 more districts to get benefits

Amaravati: Extending the Aarogyasri cover to the poor for any treatment exceeding Rs 1,000 to six more districts, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the scope of the welfare scheme would be widened further in the coming days and affirmed that Andhra Pradesh is the only state in the country to include corona treatment in Aarogyasri list.

During the video conference with district collectors while formally announcing the extension of Aarogyasri scheme to six more districts, the Chief Minister said the state has been taking all steps to contain Covid- and brought corona treatment under Aarogyasri since April and other states have emulated us.

The pilot project of the Aarogyasri scheme was launched on January 3 in West Godavari district to provide medical cover for any medical treatment which costs Rs 1,000 or more. The scheme was extended to Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Prakasam, YSR Kadapa and Kurnool districts from Thursday.

The Chief Minister said that the scope of Aarogyasri is being widened extensively and the scheme is applicable to those whose annual income is up to Rs 5 lakh. The state will introduce grading system for hospitals and there will be a revamp of the government hospitals under Naadu-Nedu, he said.

"All Aarogyasri bills should be expedited through green channel. The state has cleared the previous government's dues to network hospitals worth Rs 680 crore. The government has also included ailments like cancer and cochlear implant in Aarogyasri," the Chief Minister said.

He also reminded that 1.42 crore Aarogyasri cards had been distributed and the number of ailments covered under the scheme had been increased from 1,059 during the previous government to 2,200. The state will soon have 27 teaching hospitals and 500 types of medicines supplied in them would be of WHO standards, he added.

The Chief Minister instructed the district collectors to concentrate on containment of Covid as we have to live with it till the vaccine comes out. Awareness should be created about the safety measures and how to go about once a person suspects the symptoms.

"People should know where the Covid testing centres are. About 80 per cent of the cases can recover by home quarantine and those who do not have isolation facility at home, can be admitted to Covid Care Centres. As the district borders are opened, there is a possibility of spike in cases and the collectors should take effective steps," he said.

The Chief Minister said the government had procured 1,088 vehicles of 104 and 108 ambulances with state-of-the-art technology to provide medical facilities from mandal level and added that they were also providing Rs 5,000 per month to the patients as post surgery allowance for the period of rest prescribed by the doctor.

The government will soon establish 13,000 YSR Village Clinics with 54 types of medicines and one ANM for providing medical services.

The Chief Minister said that YSR Kanti Velugu was the scheme which has given him satisfaction under which 65 lakh students had undergone eye tests of which 1.58 lakh children were prescribed eye glasses and the government had supplied spectacles to 1.29 and the rest will be distributed by this month end.

Chief Secretary Neelam Sawhney, Special Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy CEO , Aarogysri Dr Mallikarjuna Rao and other officials were present at video conference.

In the interactive session, beneficiaries from various districts thanked the Chief Minister for Aarogyasri and other welfare schemes.