Sameer Sehgal
He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything!
Tomas Carlyle
India had seen a major shift in its economic policies in the year 1991. Owing to the Economic Reforms of 1991, Indian Economy had shown a great revival. The sectors of public policy that had a direct impact on country’s economy, Labour Laws, Import/ Export Policies, were also revived. However, the sectors that had a indirect impact on the economy received lesser attention than that was necessary. Health Sector of India was one such sector. The Govt was well aware of the indirect impact Health Policies can have on upliftment of the standard of living and resultantly on the economy and general well being of the country. To address the inadequacies of the Health Sector and ensuring that the health benefits are received by the lowest strata of the Indian Society, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced the launch of (PMJAY) Ayushman Bharat Yojana in his Independence Day speech of the year 2018. The scheme, popularly known as Ayushman Bharat Yojana aims to cover more than 50 crore underprivileged Indian citizens without any limitations pertaining to family size and age. PMJAY aims to provide Rs 5.00 lakh annual cover for each family to cover medical expenses. It caters for the poor and destitute households in both the rural and urban areas.
Similar to other Govt welfare schemes, Ayushman Bharat Yojana has some eligibility criteria so as to focus on the deprived people. The eligibility criteria is as follows:-
(a) Rural Households.
(i) No adult/ male / earning member within the age group of 16-59 yrs.
(ii) Families living in one room with kuchha walls and roof.
(iii) Manual scavenger families.
(iv) Landless households earning a major part of their family income from manual labour.
(b) Urban Households.
(i) Domestic worker, beggar, rag picker.
(ii) Home-based artisans- Tailor, sweeper, sanitation worker, gardener etc.
(iii) Construction workers- laborer, painter, welder, security guard, porter etc.
(iv) Tradesmen - electrician, mechanic, plumber, mason etc.
(v) Transport workers - rickshaw puller, conductor, cart puller etc.
(vi) Shop workers - waiter, peon, delivery agents etc.
(vii) Street vendors, hawker cobbler etc.
The Government aims to provide basic medical facilities at most places and specialized
medical facilities at selected places for better reach of the said facilities to the grassroot level.
Prioritization of the facilities will also allow the Government to manage its meager resources and employ them with utmost efficiency. Following medical expenses are covered during treatment: -
(a) Medical examination, treatment and consultation fee.
(b) Pre-hospitalization and post hospitalization expenses for 15 days.
(c) Cost of medicines and medical consumables.
(d) Hospital accommodation charges.
(e) Non-ICU and ICU services.
(f) Expenses on diagnostic procedures.
(g) Medical implantation services.
(h) Expenses incurred on complications arising during medical treatment.
Importance for Jammu and Kashmir
Considering the challenging topography in the Jammu and Kashmir UT and less availability of proper hospitals in rural areas, PM-JAY is a boon for the people as it covers the basic as well as the taxing medical expenses. The poor and illiterate people in the remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir who rely on domestic treatments are benefitted the most as they are encouraged to seek professional medical advice and treatment free of cost.
Since the launch of PM-JAY scheme on 01 Dec 2018, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have shown their keen interest in the program and more than 10 lakh e‐Cards were generated within the first 90 days of launch of PM‐JAY in the state. Awareness campaigns and workshops were conducted with youth groups from higher secondary schools and skill development centers across various districts of Jammu and Kashmir. These workshops and campaigns were held in order to involve youth in implementation and awareness of the scheme so as to bridge the gap in large sections of society.
These have also been instrumental in speeding up the implementation of the scheme and kept the progress steady, thereby attracting more families to enroll and receive benefits under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme. The students volunteered to undertake door-to-door campaigning for building awareness about the scheme in their respective areas. In a major awareness drive about the scheme, State Health Authority of Jammu and Kashmir launched “Ayushman Bharat Rath” in every district.
Announcements were made at religious places like Masjids and Mandirs. These promotional activities have proved to be a huge success. Within a week’s time of these campaigns and workshops, large number of e-cards were generated. In March 2020, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has also rolled out the Jammu and Kashmir Health Scheme for Universal Health Coverage of all residents of the UT.
As on April 2021, 40.42 lakh family e-cards have been generated and 230 hospitals including 36 private hospitals have been empanelled in Jammu and Kashmir. A large number of the total eligible families have been covered under the scheme.
Contribution by Indian Army
Army has contributed to a great extent by reaching every nook and corner of interior villages of Jammu and Kashmir and making the people aware about the Govt`s initiative. Army’s own medical camps and “Sadbhawana” activities have led to more and more people avail the benefits of professional medical advice and treatment free of cost, which was a distant dream for many in the past. Post abrogation of Article 370, there has been a boost in the influx of medical practitioners from across India in hospitals of Jammu and Kashmir and has led to augmentation in medical expertise of hospitals here as a whole. In short, the success of AB PM-JAY in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir has been nothing short of spectacular and has improved the overall wellbeing of its citizens. The scheme is seen as a boon for the UT and will continue to improve the lives of people in times to come.
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