Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan to be launched on September 25 next

Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the nation on the occasion of Independence Day celebration on Wednesday announced that Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan, the ambitious health insurance scheme would be launched on 25th September this year on the occasion of the anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.

Narendra Modi announced the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan on 25th September this year – the anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay. " It is high time we ensure that the poor of India get access to good quality and affordable healthcare. The scheme will positively impact 50 crore people", said the PM.

The states and union territories selected for the pilot run of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyan National Health Protection Mission are: Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Daman and Diu, Nagaland, Manipur, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh.

The insurance cover scheme is under the government's Ayushman Bharat healthcare policy umbrella.
So far, 29 out of 36 states and union territories have agreed to join the scheme.

Private hospitals may not be enrolled in some states as the purpose of launching the scheme on pilot basis is to test government systems in real time. National Health Agency is the implementing agency of the scheme.
The Scheme is a Rs 5 lakh cashless family floater insurance covering all members of the household for one year. Members can be added after the government's approval.

It was needed because government agencies have found that in India, people pay over three-fourths of all healthcare costs out of pocket Nearly 5.5 crore people were pushed below the poverty line because of healthcare expenses, of which 3.8 crore became poor only because they had to bear medicine costs. The scheme is targeted at such families.

It covers 1,354 medical and surgical packages categorised under 25 specialties such as cardiology, neurosurgery, oncology (chemotherapy for 50 types of cancers), burns, among others. Patients can't avail surgical and medical packages at the same time.