New Delhi, November 4 (IANS). Information about government expenditure on providing free treatment in hospitals under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), one of the major schemes of the Central Government, has come to light. According to government data, more than Rs 1.1 lakh crore has been spent under this scheme since the beginning of 2018.
Official data has shown that more than 7.9 crore individuals have benefited from the scheme, which provides an annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh.
This government scheme has made it easier for the most vulnerable sections of India to access health services.
According to the data, “The scheme was made available to 10.7 crore poor households in the country in September 2018, covering 40 per cent of the bottom half of the population.”
This scheme, aimed at making access to health services easier for all citizens of the country, meets the immediate health needs.
This scheme of the government has been helpful in reducing the financial burden related to health services of many poor families of the country.
The healthcare expenditure of the beneficiaries has reduced with the scheme. Before the launch of the scheme, about 62 percent of healthcare costs were borne directly by individuals, placing many in financial difficulty.
According to the data, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat are the states where the number of beneficiaries is highest.
The scheme provides cashless treatment for up to 2,000 procedures. All costs related to treatment, medicines, doctor’s fees, room charges, surgeon’s charges, OT and ICU charges are covered in this plan.
So far, treatments like general medicine, infectious diseases, general surgery, medical oncology, ophthalmology and orthopedics have been availed the most by the beneficiaries of this scheme.
Apart from this, people are also availing the benefits of hemodialysis, screening for COVID-19 and treatment of acute febrile illness.
Additionally, the data revealed that more than 35.5 crore Ayushman cards have been issued to individuals eligible for the scheme, allowing them to avail healthcare services across 30,672 empaneled public and private hospitals.
The scheme has been expanded to include senior citizens aged 70 years and above. This is expected to benefit about 6 crore individuals from 4.5 crore families.
The government last week also launched the Ayushman Vaya Vandana Card to provide free health coverage to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above. This is in addition to the existing AB PM- JAY Parivar Yojana, in which senior citizens will get a separate cover of Rs 5 lakh per year.
—IANS
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