Ayushman Bharat Health Cover Extended To ASHA, Anganwadi Workers - Know All About The Scheme

The Indian Government has come up with many schemes in recent years that are beneficial for the poor and deprived sections of society. From education to health to infrastructure, welfare schemes in different sectors have contributed to ‘New India’. One such scheme is Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission, which has a defined benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year. In the interim budget 2024, the Finance Minister has announced that the healthcare cover under the Ayushman Bharat scheme will be extended to all ASHA workers, all Aanganwadi workers, and helpers.

What are the main features of Ayushman Bharat?

Benefits of the Ayushman Bharat scheme are portable across the country and a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals across the country. The beneficiaries of the scheme can avail benefits in both public and empanelled private facilities. One of the core principles of Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission is to co-operative federalism and flexibility to states. States need to have State Health Agency (SHA) to implement the scheme.

Who are the beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat?

As per the Government of India website, Ayushman Bharat will target about 10.74 crore poor, deprived rural families and identified occupational category of urban workers' families as per the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data covering both rural and urban. This will increase the cover to nearly 40% of the population The scheme is designed to be dynamic and aspirational and it would take into account any future changes in the exclusion/ inclusion/ deprivation/ occupational criteria in the SECC data.

What is the aim of Ayushman Bharat?

The scheme This will lead to increased access to quality health and medication. In addition, the unmet needs of the population which remained hidden due to lack of financial resources will be catered to. This will lead to timely treatments, improvements in health outcomes, patient satisfaction, improvement in productivity and efficiency, and job creation thus leading to improvement in quality of life.