Shimla, May 14 (PTI) The states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Uttarakhand agreed today to implement the ambitious national health protection mission, which aims to provide an annual coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family.

The four states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh inked MoUs with the Union Health Ministry for the implementation of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda presided over the MoU signing ceremony at a regional workshop for northern states here.

Stating that the scheme will be a big game changer in the healthcare sector, he said, "We are witnessing history as the first MoU of Ayushman Bharat is being signed here."

Nadda said that the initiatives undertaken by the government would eventually become the largest healthcare programme of the world because of India's large population.

"Through our programmes and initiatives, we are ensuring that healthcare is accessible, affordable and equitable,” he said.

The centrally-sponsored scheme, which will provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually and benefit more than 10 crore families belonging to the poor and vulnerable sections of the society, is likely to be launched in August.

The scheme will target poor, deprived rural families and identified occupational categories of urban workers' families -- 8.03 crore in rural and 2.33 crore in urban areas, as per the latest Socio Economic and Caste Census data, and will cover around 50 crore people.

“It will be cashless and paperless access to services up to Rs 5 lakh per year will be available for the beneficiary families at the point of service in both public and private empanelled hospitals across India,” said.

He further said that the beneficiaries under the scheme can avail of services anywhere in India and it is expected to bring a visible relief to the target families by mitigating the financial risk arising out of catastrophic health episodes.

Through these MoUs, the states formally committed to implement the programme. The MoU clearly outlines roles of central and state governments/UT administrations for the implementation of the scheme. Similar regional workshops are also planned in due course of time across India to sign MoU with other states.

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