West Bengal set to become 36th State/UT to implement Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
New Delhi, June 7
Marking a major milestone in India's journey towards universal health coverage, the Government of West Bengal is set to join the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana on June 8, the world's largest publicly funded health assurance scheme.
According to a press release, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the scheme in the State will be signed between the National Health Authority (NHA), under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, and the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal, at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
With the signing of the MoU, West Bengal will become the 36th State/Union Territory in the country to implement AB PM-JAY. The development marks a major milestone in the journey towards achieving equitable and accessible healthcare for all citizens across the nation, the release stated.
As per the release, the MoU signing ceremony will be presided over by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, J.P. Nadda, in the august presence of the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari; Pratap Rao Jadhav, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Ayush; Anupriya Patel, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers; Punya Salila Srivastava, Union Health Secretary and Manoj Kumar Agarwal, Chief Secretary, West Bengal, and other senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National Health Authority and Government of West Bengal.
The release informed that Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY provides health cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to eligible beneficiaries. Since its launch, the scheme has emerged as a cornerstone of India's healthcare transformation, reducing out-of-pocket expenditure and improving access to quality treatment through a vast network of empanelled public and private hospitals.
The implementation of AB PM-JAY in West Bengal is expected to extend financial protection against catastrophic health expenditure to millions of eligible beneficiaries in the State while enabling seamless portability of healthcare benefits across the country.
It will also strengthen the State's healthcare ecosystem by enhancing access to quality and affordable healthcare services, the release added.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Great scheme on paper but hope the implementation is smooth. In many states, people still struggle with paperwork and hospitals refusing treatment. Also, Rs 5 lakh is good but for serious illnesses like cancer, it runs out fast. Let's see how Bengal handles this.
Honestly, it's about time. Bengal was one of the last major states to join. But better late than never! The portability feature is a huge plus - now patients from Bengal can go to hospitals in Delhi or Mumbai for treatment without extra stress. One India, one health! 🇮🇳
I work in healthcare administration. This MoU signing is just the first step - the real challenge will be hospital empanelment, especially in rural areas. But if Bengal's health infrastructure is properly leveraged, this could be a model for other states. Hope the state government puts in the necessary effort.
Having seen India's healthcare system from both UK and Indian perspectives, this is genuinely impressive. The scale of Ayushman Bharat is unmatched globally. Even in the UK's NHS, we don't have this kind of portability across regions. India is doing something truly innovative here.
It's a good move but I wish the government would also focus on strengthening primary healthcare. Hospitalization is expensive, but prevention is better. We need more PHCs, health awareness camps, and affordable medicines. Ayushman Bharat + Swasthya Sathi from Bengal could actually complement each other well if implemented properly.
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