MoU likely by end of week for Ayushman Bharat scheme

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Delhi government and National Health Authority (NHA) to launch Narendra Modi government’s flagship Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY) is likely to be signed over the weekend, according to people familiar with the matter.

The scheme is the largest public health insurance scheme in the world that provides ₹5 lakh annual health insurance cover for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation per family in both government and private hospitals.

The first step towards rolling out the Ayushman Bharat insurance scheme in Delhi involves signing the MoU between the state government and the National Health Authority (NHA) under the central government that is the nodal authority overseeing the implementation of the scheme across the country.

Officials aware of the matter from the department claimed that in the coming days, the State Health Agency (SHA), a nodal agency that implements AB-PMJAY in a state, will be constituted, following which the MoU will be signed, which is likely going to happen by the end of this week. The SHA is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the scheme in their respective state.

“The work to get Ayushman Bharat implemented in the state is doing on in full swing. As of now, the task at hand is to consolidate the data for the beneficiaries. We already have data of beneficiaries that has been collected over the years by Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers. This data has different details of the families in every district. The work has already been started to segregate that data in a more precise manner. Part of this process is already done and rest will be done very soon and the data will be then provided to the ministry,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

The official also said that as of now master trainers are being trained to generate new Ayushman Bharat cards. These trainers will then train other workers, including ASHA workers, who will then help people get registered and create their Ayushman Bharat cards.

As per the official, the target is to enroll at least 100,000 eligible beneficiaries under the scheme within the next 30 days.

According to the Ayushman Bharat scheme, an estimated 6.54 lakh of the poorest families in Delhi will receive health coverage up to ₹5 lakh. Importantly, 4.5 lakh families with people over the age of 70 — some of whom may already be eligible for cover as per their economic status — will also benefit. The Delhi government announced that it will provide an additional cover of ₹5 lakh to those eligible to avail of the. The Delhi chief minister, Rekha Gupta, made that announcement right after her first Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

With Delhi signing on to the scheme, after Odisha earlier this year, West Bengal is now the only state that is not covered under the scheme.