Odisha to Join Ayushman Bharat Scheme

As per the recent reports, Odisha is anticipated to participate in the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) shortly. The Union Cabinet, led by PM Modi on September 11^th, 2024, approved health coverage for citizens aged 70 or above, without considering their incomes. This flagship initiative aims at expanding healthcare access for older people across the nation.

Sources from the health ministry suggest that discussions with the Odisha administration, which is currently under the leadership of the BJP, are close to being settled. The government is expected to sign a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the National Health Authority (NHA), the agency in charge of implementing the AB-PMJAY. The agreement may be finalized in the upcoming days.

According to a senior ministry official, “Once Odisha is on board, we will have only two more states/UTs: West Bengal and Delhi, to enter the Ayushman Bharat Scheme.” All other states and UTs have implemented the scheme.

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Earlier, the former Odisha administration, under the leadership of BJD’s Naveen Patnaik, chose not to join the Ayushman Scheme. They claimed that the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), their health initiative is much better. They asserted that their scheme covers nearly 90% of the states’ population, with more comprehensive health services.

Ayushman Bharat Scheme

AB-PMJAY was introduced in 2018 with the initiative of providing health coverage of INR 5 lakh per family per year. It further offers secondary and tertiary care hospitalization, benefiting 55 crore individuals across 12.34 crore poor and unprivileged sections.

The recent addition to AB-PMJAY is expected to help approximately 4.5 crore families, including 6 crore older citizens. With this permission, all older citizens within the age range of 70 or above will be able to enjoy the benefits of the program.

Why are Delhi and West Bengal Still Not on the List?

Earlier, three states—West Bengal, Delhi, and Odisha were not on the list of the Ayushman Bharat scheme. However, the latest reports indicate that Odisha will soon be part of this initiative. Once Odisha is on board, Delhi and West Bengal will be the two remaining states to still opt for the scheme.

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Delhi and West Bengal cited their existing health scheme, as the reason for not implementing the Ayushman Bharat program.

The Bengal administration asserted that the AB-PMJAY cards would not make any difference in the state. Bengal back in October 2019, withdrew itself from the central health scheme. The state said, “We are not among the participating states, we opted out three years ago. Our own Swasthya Sathi scheme covers the entire population, which PMJAY does not.” They also pointed out that the scheme features the Prime Minister’s photo and lotus logo.

Additionally, CM Mamta Banerjee highlighted that health is a state subject and the Centre is attempting to run a “parallel government” through this initiative.

The implementation of AB-PMJAY aims at providing healthcare benefits to every individual in the nation. This specifically covers weaker sections, specially-abled and older citizens. However, the disagreement between the two states raises concerns about healthcare management across the nation.