Soon after taking charge as Union Health Minister, Harsh Vardhan has reached out to the states that opted out from joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's flagship health protection scheme — Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) — and asked them to consider it again for adoption. So far only three states and one Union Territories have refused to implement the scheme.

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He has written to Chief Ministers of Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal and Delhi, all ruled by opposition leaders, asking them to accept and implement the health programme in the spirit of "cooperative federalism". He has also personally spoken with the respective Chief Ministers of Delhi, Odisha and West Bengal — Arvind Kejriwal, Naveen Patnaik, Mamata Banerjee respectively — and to talk to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao.

In his letter, Vardhan urging the chief ministers has said that it is due to clear and transparent processes, ease of access and benefits to a large section of the poor population that 32 states and UTs have accepted the scheme.

WHAT AB-PMJAY IS ABOUT

Scheme billed as world’s largest healthcare plan

  • Rs 5,00,000 – Free health insurance cover to be received per family  
  • 40% – Section of the population that will be covered  
  • 100 mn – Poor and vulnerable families in India who will benefit  
  • 32 – Number of states that have already come under the scheme, apart from UTs 

"Implementing AB-PMJAY would prove highly beneficial for not just the State but equally importantly to its people and all stakeholders. The ultimate beneficiary of this collaboration will be poor and vulnerable people," said Vardhan said in the letter.

"Due to the portability of services, the states will gain from the nationwide network of hospitals and will also help provide services in their own state to those from outside their states. I also assure full support to states in aligning their own schemes with Ayushman Bharat," he said.

The union minister said financial resources will be made available to the states with adequate flexibility in the spirit of cooperative federalism.

The government is also in proposes to introduce several upgrades for Ayushman Bharat like to increase the health budget to support the scheme. Billed as the world's largest healthcare scheme, the project aims to provide free health insurance of Rs 5 lakh per family to nearly 40% of the population, i.e. more than 100 million poor families.

DISSENTING FOUR

WHO’RE OPPOSING

  • Arvind Kejriwal  
  • Mamata Banerjee

WILLING TO RELOOK

  • Naveen Patnaik  
  • K Chandrashekar Rao