NEW DELHI: The Delhi government is all set to roll out the Centre’s flagship Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
The much-anticipated move, which was approved in the first Cabinet meeting of the new government, will see the signing of an official memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Delhi government and the Centre likely on March 18, according to sources. The MoU will be signed in the presence of Union Health Minister JP Nadda.
Five families will be issued Ayushman Bharat e-cards on the occasion. With this, Delhi will become the 35th state or Union Territory to implement the scheme. The implementation of AB-PMJAY marks a departure from the previous AAP government’s own insurance scheme, the Delhi Arogya Kosh. Sources indicate that the rollout of the Ayushman Bharat will lead to a dip in the funding for Delhi
Arogya Kosh.The rollout of the scheme aligns with a key promise made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the Delhi Assembly elections. Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, who chaired the first Cabinet meeting, prioritised approval for the scheme, setting the stage for its formal adoption.
As many as six lakh people in Delhi will receive health coverage under AB-PMJAY in the first phase. Essential workers identified in the initial list of beneficiaries in 2018, Anganwadi workers and citizens aged 70 and above will be covered under the scheme.
The eligible beneficiaries will need to register themselves through an online portal or mobile app. While Ayushman Bharat provides health insurance coverage of up to `5 lakh per family, the Delhi government has decided to enhance this amount to `10 lakh.
The state government will bear the additional cost. According to officials, several rounds of meetings were held over the past three weeks to finalise the implementation of the scheme.
The National Health Authority and the Delhi health department worked out key details, such as the identification of beneficiaries, the processing of claims and the establishment of a grievance redressal system, during these discussions. Besides, training sessions were organised to streamline the creation of Ayushman Bharat cards and ensure a smooth claim submission process ahead of the scheme’s rollout.