Odisha set to join Ayushman Bharat scheme

New Delhi: Odisha, which along with Delhi and West Bengal, had not implemented Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri - Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), is all set to join the flagship scheme to provide health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation, according to sources.”Discussions with the State are at an advanced stage and it is almost ready to join the scheme,” an official source said.

Odisha is already implementing its own health scheme which will now run alongside this Central scheme and some technical issues are being worked out, the source said. Under the scheme, the Centre and the State share the financial burden. States like Punjab haven’t posted their audit report from 2019-2020 onwards which is also being sorted out now, the sources said.

Recently, health coverage under the scheme has been approved for all persons aged 70 years and above irrespective of their income status.The expanded scheme will benefit an estimated six crore citizens in about 4.5 crore households, official sources said.

Highlighting that Ayushman Bharat is the world’s largest publicly funded health coverage programme, they informed that the expanded scheme will be implemented from October this year.A distinct card will also be provided to differentiate between the Ayushman Bharat family card and the senior citizen card.

Till September 1, 2024, a total of 29,648 hospitals, including 12,696 private hospitals, have been empanelled under the PMJAY.The scheme is being implemented in 33 States and Union Territories currently except for Delhi, Odisha and West Bengal.