Ayushman Bharat scheme: Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the Centre's flagship Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) from Jharkhand today. PM had announced the launch of the scheme from ramparts of the Red Fort during his Independence day speech. The scheme claims to benefit more than 10 crore poor families. As many as 31 states and Union Territories have signed MoUs with the Centre and will implement the programme over the next two to three months, after its launch on Sunday. Here's all you need to know about Ayushman Bharat scheme and how will it benefit the poor section of the country.

Ayushman Bharat scheme details

What is Ayushman Bharat scheme • The ambitious scheme, which was renamed the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyan (PMJAY), aims to provide a coverage of Rs five lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10 crore poor families. • Eligible people can avail the benefits in the government and listed private hospitals. • The Health Ministry has included 1,354 packages in the scheme under which treatment for coronary bypass, knee replacements, and stenting, among others, would be provided at 15-20 per cent cheaper rates than the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). • Over 8,735 hospitals, both public and private, have been empanelled for the scheme. • Billed as the world's largest government healthcare programme, it will be funded with 60 per cent contribution coming from the central government and the remaining from the states. Ayushman Bharat eligibility • The scheme will target poor, deprived rural families and identified the occupational category of urban workers' families, 8.03 crore in rural and 2.33 crore in urban areas, as per the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data. • It will cover around 50 crore people. • In addition, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) beneficiaries in states where it is active are also included. • There is no cap on family size and age in the scheme, ensuring that nobody is left out. How are beneficiaries decided • The entitlement is being decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC database. • The beneficiaries are identified based on the deprivation categories (D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, and D7) identified under the SECC database for rural areas. For the urban areas, the 11 occupational criteria will determine entitlement. • Eleven occupational categories of workers include rag pickers, beggars, domestic workers, street vendors, cobblers/ hawkers/ other service providers working on streets, construction workers/ plumbers/ masons/ labours/ painters/ welders/ security guards/ coolies and other head-load workers and sanitation workers. How can one enroll to the scheme • One would only need to establish one's identity to avail benefits under the scheme and it could be through Aadhaar card or election ID card or ration card. • Having an Aadhaar card is not mandatory to avail the scheme's benefit. • In case of hospitalisation, members of the beneficiary families do not need to pay anything under the scheme, provided one goes to a government or an empanelled private hospital. How to avail benefits • Each empanelled hospital will have an 'Ayushman Mitra' to assist patients and will coordinate with beneficiaries and the hospital. • They will run a help desk, check documents to verify the eligibility and enrolment to the scheme. • Also, all the beneficiaries will be given letters having QR codes which will be scanned and a demographic authentication conducted for identification and to verify his or her eligibility to avail the benefits of the scheme. Helpline • The National Health Agency (NHA), the apex body implementing the AB-NHPM has launched a website and a helpline number to help prospective beneficiaries check if their name is there in the final list. • One can visit the website mera.pmjay.gov.in or call up the helpline (14555) to check their enrolment. • A beneficiary needs to key in his or her mobile number, which is verified through an OTP and then complete the KYC (know your customer) online without any need for human interface with other documents. • They can also call the helpline number to check their enrolment. Which states are not part of the scheme • 31 states and Union Territories who have signed MoUs will implement the programme over the next two to three months. • Remaining states and UTs which include Telangana, Odisha, Delhi, Kerala and Punjab have not signed, so the scheme will not be implemented in those states till they come on board. (With inputs from PTI)