“The previous government had stalled the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi implemented it across the country, and now we have approved it for Delhi,” said the Delhi chief minister following the Cabinet’s decision.

That leaves West Bengal as the only state in the country that has not implemented the central government-run scheme.

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A day after the Delhi government made the announced, Union minister for health and family welfare, JP Nadda, posted on the microblogging site X, “…The AAP government, due to its narrow and selfish politics, maliciously deprived the people of Delhi of this public welfare scheme for 10 years, due to which lakhs of citizens of Delhi were deprived of good treatment in difficult circumstances.”

What does it mean for Delhi to have joined this scheme?

AB-PMJAY, the world’s largest public health insurance program, was launched on September 23, 2018, to provide up to ₹5 lakh annually for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation to 100 million poor and vulnerable families in the country, based on the socio-economic caste census data. The treatment is cashless, and hospitals empanelled under the scheme include both government and private sector facilities.

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While Delhi fares better in terms of hospital distribution—with at least 20 government hospitals (both central and state-run)—finding a bed remains a herculean task, with surgery dates sometimes being scheduled years in advance at some hospitals.

Private hospitals, though, are often the best option, but they are out of reach for many who rely on government hospitals due to the exorbitant treatment costs. In this scenario, the possibility of accessing medical facilities at corporate hospitals, including some prominent ones, on a cashless basis is what the AB-PMJAY scheme offers to millions of poor and vulnerable individuals.

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That said, there are challenges that blur the otherwise promising picture.

While the scheme offers treatment options at both government and private hospitals, the on-boarding of hospitals is not mandatory; it is purely voluntary. As seen in other government-run schemes operating in private hospitals, such as the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), where the government needs to reimburse private players, a significant backlog exists, and it often takes years for the government to clear dues. As a result, private hospitals become hesitant to join, which limits the choices for patients, especially when specialised care is needed. If this challenge is addressed effectively, the implementation of the scheme will truly be worth the wait.