Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to launch the pilot projects of National Health Protection Scheme, Ayushman Bharat in select district hospitals on Independence Day. However, the scheme is slated to fully function from September 25 onwards.
Ayushman Bharat, called as ‘Modicare,’ is expected to cover more than 10 crore economically backward people and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) offering a wide coverage up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi will talk about the scheme in his Independence Day speech and is also likely to announce its launch on a pilot basis in some states tomorrow,” a government official said.
The likes of Punjab, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi are yet to become a part of the scheme and Odisha denied to be a part of the scheme, the official said. As far as the official is concerned, as many as 22 states have chosen to run the scheme on “trust model”.
The Centre has already fixed a certain amount of Rs 10,000 crore for the project, which is asserted to be the world’s largest government-funded healthcare insurance programme. It is yet to release its share of the funds to the states.
