The Centre on Monday urged the Odisha government to become a part of Ayushman Bharat, saying the flagship health insurance scheme launched last month would remain incomplete if it did not do so. The State is yet to join the Central health scheme.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had rejected the Centre’s proposal to join the Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission and launched its own health scheme called the ‘Biju Swastha Kalyan Yojana’ to cover about 3.5 crore people of nearly 70 lakh families.
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who was here for the inauguration of the Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital, said, “Unless Odisha became part of the Ayushman Bharat, the programme would remain incomplete. Therefore, I urged the Odisha government to accept it.”
Mr. Choubey, however, said there is nothing wrong in the State’s own scheme, but Odisha should also become part of Ayushman Bharat to make it complete as well as provide better health assurance provision for the poor and needy people.
“I congratulate the Chief Minister for the State’s own scheme. But the State should also take advantage of Ayushman Bharat,” the Union Minister said.
The State had rejected the Ayushman scheme primarily because the Health Ministry put a condition to limit the number of beneficiaries to 61 lakh families.
