Six years of Ayushman Bharat: Lesser-known facts about universal healthcare scheme

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PMJAY), launched in the second tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government to provide universal health coverage to crores of citizens across the length and breadth of the country is a saga of success and also show how it went to lay the foundation of a 'Swasth Bharat'.

Today, an impoverished farmer in any village to a middle-class citizen in Top II, Tier III cities to someone in a metropolitan town has access to similar medical facilities, without worrying about financial fallouts. Money is not a constraint in getting healthcare benefits and this is what makes PM-JAY deliver on its universal health coverage.

Ayushman Bharat has become a lifeline today, with more than 60,000 patients getting free treatments daily and crores of families getting 'insulated' from exorbitant medical expenses.

Below are some interesting and lesser known facts about PM-JAY

* It was on September 23, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the transformative Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda made an interesting revelation on Monday about how the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, initially conceived with Rs 1 lakh insurance cover, went to become a gamechanger with suggestions from the Prime Minister.

Taking to X, the Health Minister said: "When we were initially drafting the roadmap for Ayushman Bharat, we proposed a health coverage of Rs 1 lakh. It was on the advice of PM Modi that it was increased to Rs 5 lakh, ensuring that the scheme truly benefits those in need.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed special emphasis on the effective implementation of Ayushman Bharat, launching nationwide campaigns to raise awareness and ensure accessibility for all citizens," he added.

As per government records, about 49 per cent of the Ayushman Cards have been issued to women and out of 7.79 crore hospital admissions, approximately 3.61 crores are utilised by women.

Public and private hospitals are equally contributing to the implementation of the scheme with 57 per cent and 43 per cent contributions, respectively.

PM-JAY, being the world's largest health insurance scheme, aims to provide health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to approximately 55 crore beneficiaries, corresponding to 12.37 crore families, constituting the bottom 40 per cent of India's population.

At least 18 states have converged their state-specific schemes with AB PM-JAY and some have even expanded the beneficiary base, at their own cost.

Recently, PM Modi-led government announced an expansion of PM-JAY yojana for all those senior citizens above the age of 70 years, irrespective of their socio-economic status. This will benefit about 6 crore such senior citizens residing in approximately 4.5 crore families.

Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, having emerged as the world's largest government-funded health insurance scheme in mere six years of launch, embodies the government's resolve for building a 'Swasth Bharat' and transforming the healthcare landscape for crores of Indians.