NEW DELHI: At least 10,000 new jobs will be created with the implementation of the Centre's ambitious healthcare scheme Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM), a government official has said.
The health ministry has signed an agreement with the skill development ministry for recruitment, following which around one lakh 'Ayushman Mitras' will be deployed at private and government hospitals under the scheme, the official said.
"Each empanelled hospital will have an 'Ayushman Mitra' to assist patients and will coordinate with beneficiaries and the hospital. They will run a help desk, check documents to verify eligibility and enrolment to the scheme."
Meanwhile, the Union health ministry has launched a formal process to empanel public and private hospitals to achieve universal health coverage under the programme, and as many as 20,000 private and government hospitals have been linked under the scheme.
It is not mandatory for hospitals to get empanelled under the scheme. The basic empanelment criteria allow empanelment of a hospital with a minimum of 10 beds, with flexibility provided to states to relax this if required.
The Centre is simultaneously carrying out beneficiary identification, and under the process, 80 per cent of the beneficiaries, based on the Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) data in the rural areas and more than 60 per cent of the beneficiaries in urban areas have been identified.
Announced in the 2018 Budget, the AB-NHPM was touted as the 'world's largest government-funded healthcare scheme'. The scheme aims to cover over 10 crore poor families with insurance coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per year.