Free hospitalisation benefits worth over Rs 1.2 lakh crore have been provided to beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) since the scheme was rolled out.
More than 85.97 million people have so far benefited from the PMJAY scheme which offers Rs 5,00,000-a-year free health cover, according to official data. The scheme was made available for 107 million poor households in the country since September 2018, roughly covering the bottom 40% of the population.
When the scheme was launched an estimated 62% of healthcare costs were borne out of pocket pushing millions of Indians into poverty every year.
People from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat were the top beneficiaries under the scheme.
Under PMJAY, close to 2,000 procedures are available for beneficiaries to get cashless treatment which includes all the costs related to treatment, medicines, supplies, diagnostic services, physician’s fees, room charges, surgeon charges, OT & ICU charges, etc.
The top speciality care treatments availed by beneficiaries to date are general medicine, infectious diseases, general surgery, medical oncology, ophthalmology and orthopaedics.
Among the procedures availed by the people, are hemodialysis, screening for Covid-19, multiple packages and acute febrile illness.
More than 365.4 million Ayushman Cards have been issued to beneficiaries so far. As many as 31,077 public and private hospitals are empanelled under PM-JAY.
Considering that many people in the country are just one medical bill away from slipping into poverty, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has recommended that the PM-JAY scheme be extended to the ‘missing middle’ on a paid basis. Recently, the Centre has extended the scheme to senior citizens above 70 irrespective of income level.
According to a Niti Aayog report unveiled in October 2021, at least 30% of the population, or 400 million individuals – called the missing middle in this report – are devoid of any financial protection for health.
The coming Budget is expected to build on the initiatives launched during the Covid period to strengthen the health system, and integrate these with programmes that existed earlier. Experts have pointed out the need to bolster the public-sector facilities for primary care.
Last week, the Union Cabinet approved five-year extension of the National Health Mission, underscoring the programme’s critical role in transforming India’s public healthcare. The scheme was launched with just the rural component in 2005, but was subsequently widened.
