The Modi government at the center is all set to make major changes in the world’s biggest scheme. Under Ayushman Bharat Yojana, the insurance cover has been doubled to Rs. 10 lakh and for women Rs. 15 lakhs are being prepared. Under this scheme, preparations are being made by the central government to increase the number of beneficiaries from 55 crore to 100 crore along with adding 4 lakh beds in private hospitals. The scheme has been introduced as one of the main priorities of the Union Health Ministry in the third term of the NDA government. According to reports, the Group of Secretaries (GoS) has also submitted a report on the scheme. He was tasked with setting targets for the next five years and a timeline for their achievement. The GoS for Social Sector consists of nine Ministries including Health, AYUSH, Sports, Culture and Education. A presentation may be made before the Cabinet Secretary soon. Ayushman Bharat Yojana is the flagship health scheme of the Modi government. It is also said to be the largest scheme in the world. At present it covers 12.34 crore families. 55 crore beneficiaries are benefiting from it. In which per family Rs. 5 lakhs annual coverage is provided. Till June 30, 7.37 crore people in hospitals had benefited from this scheme. So far the expenditure has reached 1 lakh crore rupees. The BJP considers the scheme one of the success stories of the NDA government and has promised to extend its coverage to all citizens above 70 years of age in the party’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections this year. Various groups of secretaries were tasked with devising targets from the BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ and envisioning an election timeline for the same. According to the new report, the annual insurance cover amount can be increased to Rs 10 lakh per family. While in the case of women, this cover can be increased up to Rs 15 lakh for specific diseases and specific conditions. It is worth mentioning that about 49% of the total Ayushman card users are women. While about 48% of hospitalized patients are also women. Apart from this, the target is to increase the number of beneficiaries to 100 crores and to increase the number of private hospital beds to 4 lakhs. At present there are about 7.22 lakh beds under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
