DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Haryana's Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Sh. Anil Vij, said that Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana is a flagship scheme of the Government of India, which was launched on September 23, 2018, to comprehensively address health services at the secondary and tertiary levels.

AB-PM-JAY is the world's largest health insurance/ assurance scheme fully financed by the Government which aims at providing health cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year to entitled beneficiary family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.

A total of 1164 hospitals (511 public and 653 private) in Haryana are empanelled under this scheme, offering approximately 2,200 treatment packages including surgeries, medical and daycare treatments, medication costs, and diagnostics.

It's noteworthy that there is no restriction based on family size or age of family members, as disadvantaged families identified in the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 were declared eligible beneficiaries under AB-PMJAY by the Government of India, thus 28,89,287 individuals from 9,25,028 such families in Haryana were enrolled as beneficiaries under the scheme.

The cost-sharing between the Government of India and the Haryana government for beneficiaries under AB-PMJAY is in the ratio of 60:40.

He mentioned that acknowledging the vast capacity of AB-PMJAY to enhance healthcare access, the Haryana government has extended coverage of Ayushman Bharat to all Antyodaya families. Under the Chirayu (Comprehensive Health Insurance for Antyodaya Units) scheme initiated on November 21, 2022, all families with verified annual incomes up to Rs. 1.80 lakh are eligible for AB-PMJAY benefits. The entire expense of Antyodaya families under Chirayu is borne by the Haryana government.

Furthermore, since August 14, 2023, the coverage of Chirayu scheme has been extended to families with annual incomes between Rs 1.80 lakh and Rs. 3 lakh, providing Rs. 1500 contribution per family per year.
(editor@dailyworld.in)