7 Points Description of Ayushman Scheme- Modicare

In a public rally in Jharkhand, Ranchi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a mega health security scheme - Ayushman Scheme-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. Now the scheme is claimed to be the world’s biggest health security scheme covering 10 Crore families.

Union Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot were also present at the function in Jharkhand.

Why 'Modicare'

However, this mega scheme is also getting referred as 'Modicare' as there was a similar scheme launched in the United States by the previous US President, Barack Obama and that scheme became popular as Obamacare. Moreover, Obamacare had received many hindrances and challenges from the opposition parties, up to such an extent that in 2016 US elections the Obamacare became one of the major issues.

Speaking at the function, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that public welfare schemes of the Union government were being implemented in Madhya Pradesh on priority.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also launched PMJAY on Sunday in Patna. Kumar said, “When I heard the budget speech of this year by the Union Finance Minister – Arun Jaitley, I was very happy to hear about this scheme. Giving up to Rs. 5 lakh for every family every year towards their medical expenses is a great initiative. It is great to see the project launching in various states today.”

“Our Health Minister – Mangal Pandey, and other officials have put in a lot of effort for the launch of this scheme. I congratulate our health department for the launch of the scheme today. We have also taken several initiatives to promote health care in the state in the past,” Kumar added.

Here are Seven points you need to know about Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana:

1. The scheme is to provide cashless and paperless access to health care services in public and private empanelled hospitals across the country.
2. The states are going to decide on the mode of implementation with 7 states plan to adopt the insurance mode, 18 states will follow the trust route while the remaining 9 will follow the mixed model.
3. Prior to Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan, the UPA government launched Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). The sum insured under the policy was, however, just Rs 30,000.
4. The scheme will provide a health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh to 50 crore poor people. The scheme will cover 10.74 Crore rural and urban families as identified in SECC 2011.
5. The scheme will not cover primary care. It is to cover the cost of hospitalization
6. Anti-fraud cells will be established at the national and state level, and strong IT tools will be deployed to prevent and detect fraud.
7. Over 8,735 hospitals, both public and private, have been empanelled for the scheme, and as many as 31 states and union territories have signed MoUs with the Centre to implement the programme