Five States Rejected PM Modi’s Mega Healthcare Scheme – Ayushman Bharat; Here’s Why
Ayushman Bharat scheme that aims to provide coverage of Rs five lakh per family, will not cover five states.
New Delhi, September 25: Prime minister Narendra Modi on Sunday has rolled out Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY)-Ayushman Bharat scheme and termed it as "worlds largest government-funded healthcare programme." But however, the scheme that aims to provide coverage of Rs five lakh per family, will not cover five states- Kerala, Delhi, Odisha, Telangana and Punjab. PM Narendra Modi Launches Ayushman Bharat in Ranchi, World’s Largest Government-Funded Healthcare Programme.
Delhi
Delhi is also among the union territories and states that have not signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the centre to implement Ayushman Bharat. Ayushman Bharat: Key Facts to Know About PM Modi's 'Game-Changing' PMJAY Healthcare Scheme.
Arvind Kejriwal- led Aam Aadmi Party has claimed that Ayushman Bharat is PR exercise of BJP and will prove another Jumla (rhetoric).
Odisha
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, while criticising and opting out of the scheme, said, "Odisha's healthcare scheme is better than centre's. It provides Rs 7 lakh to women against central programme's Rs 5 lakh."
Telangana
Telangana government opted out of centres Ayushman Bharat scheme citing that it already has Aarogyasri scheme.
"We already have the Aarogyasri scheme. As of now, Telangana is not participating in the (central government's) scheme," official sources told news agency PTI.
Punjab
Punjab's Congress government led by Amarinder Singh also backed out of Ayushmaan Bharat. The Punjab government said that it is already running a health insurance scheme and they have an issue with the 60:40 ratio of funding by the Centre.
Ayushman Bharat which was launched on Sunday is termed as a "game changer for poor." The scheme is aimed to provide more than 10 crore poor families. Eligible people can avail the health services from listed private and government hospitals.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 25, 2018 12:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).