Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries will soon get treatment in all railway hospitals across the country as 125 hospitals are being empanelled to make them accessible to patients.
Dr. Indu Bhushan, chief executive officer of Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) and the National Health Agency (NHA), said this will add another 14,000 beds, and 2,600 doctors. “Today team NHA met with Dr. Anil Kumar, DG, Railway Health Services in Rail Bhawan to discuss the MOU to empanel 125 railway hospitals,” tweeted Dr. Bhushan.
His office said the NHA organised consultation meetings with Dr. Gajendra Kumar, Principal Executive Director/Health and Dr. Anil Kumar, Director General, Ministry of Railways, on October 29 and October 30.
“The meeting was held to promote Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) among railway hospitals, to support them in getting empanelled under AB-PMJAY, also address their queries/questions on the scheme. An MoU is slated to be signed soon,’’ the statement said.
It said similar discussions are slated be taken up with Defence and Employees State Insurance Corporation establishment to utilise their spare capacities for giving secondary and tertiary health care to PM-JAY beneficiaries.
Brought in earlier this year, the health insurance scheme aims to reduce the financial burden on poor and vulnerable groups in India arising out of catastrophic hospital episodes and ensure their access to quality health services. The scheme will provide financial protection to 10.74 crore poor, deprived rural families and identified occupational categories of urban workers’ families as per the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data (approx. 50 crore beneficiaries). It will offer a benefit cover of ₹500,000 per family per year (on a family floater basis).
PM-JAY will take care of medical and hospitalisation expenses for almost all secondary care and most of tertiary care procedures. It has defined 1,350 medical packages covering surgery, medical and day care treatments including medicines, diagnostics and transport.
According to senior health officials to ensure that nobody is left out (especially girl child, women, children and elderly), there will be no cap on family size and age.
