5 states opted out of Ayushman Bharat: Here's why
Tuesday, September 25, 2018 IST
The five states have cited existing state level schemes, coverage and funding pattern as some of the reasons for opting out of the Centre's healthcare insurance scheme
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 23 launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY)-Ayushman Bharat and termed it a "game-changer initiative to serve the poor".
However, the scheme, which aims to provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually, will not cover five states -- Delhi, Kerala, Odisha, Punjab and Telangana. These states have opted out of the scheme.
Here's a look at why these five states have decided to opt out of the healthcare scheme:
Delhi
Delhi is not among the states and union territories that have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre to implement the healthcare programme.
Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal has claimed the scheme is a public relations exercise which will prove to be another jumla (rhetoric).
On September 23, AAP termed the scheme "another white elephant in the making" and alleged that it covers only six lakh out of 50 lakh families in Delhi.
It further claimed that the ‘Delhi model’ of healthcare is better than the Centre’s PMJAY.
Telangana
Telangana has also chosen not to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme for the time being, citing a state scheme that covers around 80 lakh families.
"We already have the Aarogyasri scheme. As of now Telangana is not participating in the (central government's) scheme," official sources told news agency PTI.
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Odisha
The Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha government has not joined Centre's healthcare scheme and has instead gone for the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana.
When asked about the reason for the state opting out of PM Modi's ambitious scheme, Patnaik said that Odisha's scheme is better than the Centre's as it covers an extra 50 lakh people and provides Rs 7 lakh to women as against Rs 5 lakh by the central programme.
Kerala
The CM Pinarayi Vijayan-led state has been particularly scathing in its criticism of Ayushman Bharat.
Kerala's Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, in a series of tweets, raised questions over the effective implementation of the scheme.
Punjab
The Amarinder Singh-led state government has also backed out from PMJAY citing some "reservations".
The Congress-governed state said that it was already running health insurance schemes and that they also had an issue with the 60:40 ratio of funding by the Centre.
According to a report in The Statesman, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister, Brahm Mohindra had said, "Punjab government is running some health insurance schemes. We are yet to study the convergence of existing schemes with this one. We also have issues about 60:40 ratio of funding by Centre."
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