Delhi becomes 35th state to implement Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana

New Delhi [India], April 5 (ANI): Delhi became the 35th State and Union Territory to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) after the National Health Authority (NHA) of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) ) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Delhi government on Saturday.

The agreement was signed between L.S Changsan, additional Secretary, MoHFW and Chief Executive Officer, National Health Authority (NHA), and Dr S.B. Deepak Kumar, Secretary (Health and Family Welfare), Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of NCT Delhi, today.

The signing ceremony was presided over by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel and Delhi Minister Dr. Pankaj Kumar Singh.
BJP MPs Bansuri Swaraj, Praveen Khandelwal, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Yogendra Chandolia were also present at the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Nadda stated, "It is a moment of pride that the world's largest health coverage scheme which has been in place across 34 states and UTs in the country is finally getting implemented in the national capital as well." He stated that this scheme is built on trust, hence it is termed as an 'assurance' scheme, not an insurance scheme.
Nadda noted that on the basis of economic caste census, 50 crore people were brought under this scheme, making it the first such scheme to do so. He also informed that 36 lakh frontline health workers, including ASHAs and Angadwadi workers were brought under this scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Bima Yojna to cover both health and life insurance. This, he stated, was done to bring these frontline workers under the ambit of comprehensive social security coverage.

The Union Health Minister stated that with the implementation of AB PM-JAY in Delhi, all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status, will be covered under Ayushman Vay Vandana Yojana which provides Rs 5 lakh free health cover to all senior citizens of the age 70 years and above irrespective of their socio-economic status.
This will provide health cover to all eligible senior citizens where all pre-existing diseases will be covered from day one. "It is estimated that more than 6 lakh senior citizens in Delhi belonging to ~4.5 lakh families will be benefited", he stated. "With around 30 lakh people belonging to over 6.5 lakh families and an estimated 6 lakh senior citizens, about 36 lakh people in Delhi will be benefitted by the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme", he further stated.
Nadda also highlighted that through the AB PM-JAY scheme, more than 55 crore beneficiaries were targeted, comprising 12 crore families, which covered 40 per cent of the vulnerable population of India. He said that the implementation of AB PM-JAY will help create a healthy, empowered and prosperous Delhi. He also highlighted that out-of-pocket expenditure has declined from 62 per cent in 2014 to 38 per cent today owing to this scheme.
Citing a recent LANCET study, Nadda underlined that timely cancer treatment initiation has improved significantly because of the Ayushman Bharat Jan Aarogya Yojna. "Patients enrolled under AB-PMJAY saw 90% rise in access to cancer treatment within 30 days", he stated.
Speaking on the occasion, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta said, "Citizens in Delhi will now be able to reap benefits from AB PM-JAY which provides free health cover of Rs. 5 Lakh to each beneficiary family per year. In addition, Delhi government would be giving an additional top-up of 5 lakhs over and above the cover provided by Central Government. Around 6.54 lakh families in Delhi will be benefitted under the scheme."
She also highlighted that beneficiaries will now gain access to 1,961 health benefit packages from 27 medical specialties, featuring updated procedures and better rates for hospitals. She also informed that card distribution for the scheme will be initiated from 10th April 2025 onwards.
Union Mos Health Anupriya Patel, addressing the event, said, "Today is a historic day for the people of Delhi as this MoU reflects a common commitment of the Union and Delhi government to provide quality and affordable healthcare to residents of Delhi."
Highlighting that AB PM-JAY is the largest health assurance scheme in the world, she stated that Rs. 1.75 crore out-of-pocket expenditure has been saved so far because of the scheme. She also noted that around 6.54 lakh families in Delhi will be benefited from timely and quality healthcare, including all senior citizens, aged 70 years and above.
Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, launched on 23rd September 2018, has been a game-changer in healthcare, mainly for the millions of poor and vulnerable families across the country. In just five years, it enabled them with timely access and quality healthcare without burdening them with catastrophic health expenditure during medical emergencies. (ANI)