It has taken a little over 50 months and the total payout by the government under the PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), also known as the Ayushman Bharat scheme, has now crossed Rs 50,000 crore.
This is the amount that the Centre and various states governments have paid over the last four years for the free medical treatment of poor persons in the country ever since the scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2018. The programme was launched with a Rs 5 lakh annual cover for poor families in the country, and so far nearly 4.25 crore admissions have taken place under the scheme in over 28,500 hospitals.
Scheme’s usage
The highest usage of the scheme has been for the purpose of haemodialysis by patients suffering from kidney failure. The figures show that the PM-JAY scheme has been used for nearly 64 lakh admissions so far, the highest compared to any other procedure.
In terms of the amount, cardiology has been the top medical speciality under which treatment has been availed by people. This would imply bypass, angiography and stent placement procedures for heart patients. The data shows that out of the Rs 50,000 crore total payout so far under the scheme, as much as Rs 4,222 crore has been for cardiac procedures.
How states performed
The state of Tamil Nadu has reported the maximum hospital admissions under the scheme, at 85 lakh, 20 per cent of the total admissions under PM-JAY in the country. This is way ahead of other states with Kerala in second place at 46 lakh admissions, Rajasthan at 39 lakh, and both Karnataka and Gujarat at 35 lakh admissions each.
However, the big states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana have been lagging in the scheme. Bihar in fact has just seen 5 lakh admissions under PM-JAY while Uttar Pradesh has seen 17 lakh, a small number given the populations of these states. Telangana has seen just 6 lakh hospital admissions.
Scheme gathering speed
2022 saw the scheme gathering speed in terms of Ayushman Bharat cards being distributed to possible beneficiaries. This December, over 1.3 crore Ayushman Bharat cards have been issued so far, the highest for any month since the scheme started over four years ago.
News18 reported that in November 1.36 crore Ayushman Bharat cards were issued — a record that is set to be surpassed this month.
A top government functionary had then told News18 that by the end of this year, the scheme will cross the landmark figure of claims settled to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore.
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