Ayushman Bharat Yojana was launched on 23rd September 2018 as the flagship scheme addressing the healthcare system. The scheme is sponsored by the central government and functions as an umbrella for two other major health initiatives, namely Health and Wellness Centers, and National Health Protection (NHPS) scheme. The scheme comes under the Ayushman Bharat Mission of the Ministry of Youth and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Short and Long Essay on Ayushman Bharat Yojana
Essay – 1 (250 words)
Launched on 28th September 2018, Ayushman Bharat Yojna targets poor rural and urban families of India. The scheme has been kept paperless and cashless to ensure transparency and ease.
Ayushman Bharat Yojana is a flagship campaign that consists of the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) and Wellness Centres.
NHPS provides health insurance coverage of Rs 5 Lakh per year to the enrolled families in the listed hospitals. It is estimated to have around 50 crore beneficiaries from around 10 crore urban and rural poor families.
Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Council (AB-NHPMC) is set up for looking over-center state co-ordination and giving policy directions. The council has the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister as its chairman.
Under the Wellness Centres scheme, 1.5 Lakh wellness centers will be set up to provide several healthcare facilities including child health, pregnancy, dental care, non-communicable diseases, mental illness, and child health among others.
The beneficiaries of rural areas have been divided into seven categories from D1 to D7. For the beneficiaries of urban areas are entitled based on 11 occupational criterions.
The scheme is widely accepted by 26 states and the Union Territories, except, Delhi, West Bengal, Odisha, and Telangana.
Essay – 2 (300 words)
Ayushman Bharat Yojana was launched on 23rd September 2018, by the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi at Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state. The scheme is also called Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) or the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS). It is also the biggest government-funded healthcare scheme in the world.
In his 2018 Independence Day Speech, the Prime Minister announced Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Scheme (AB-NHPS). Under the AB-NHPS, National Health Insurance Scheme was launched as a pilot project.
The scheme aiming for the deprived and poor families in urban and rural India is estimated to benefit nearly 10 crore families of the country.
The AB-NHPS ensures a health cover of Rs 5 Lakh to each of the enlisted families for hospitalization at secondary and tertiary levels. Existing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, started by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government has been subsumed into AB-NHPS.
To get a maximum number of beneficiaries, no criterion has been fixed for the size of the family or the age of members. The scheme includes a member of any age group from a nuclear family to even a large joint family.
Since its launch in September 2018, there have been nearly 5 million hospitalizations in 15,968 empanelled hospitals throughout the country.
However, the scheme was also marred in controversy with the report of private hospitals submitting fake bills. In many cases, the patients convened with the hospitals to claim the money provided under the scheme.
Schemes like Ayushman Bharat can only function best when the citizens understand their social responsibility and are honest to the government.
