49% Ayushman Bharat card recipients are women, informs Modi govt

On Friday (July 28), the Union Minister of State for Health SP Singh Baghel informed the Lok Sabha that about 49% Ayushman Bharat card holders are women.

He also added that 141 health packages, provided under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), cater to women exclusively. According to the Modi government, women constituted about 48% of the total authorised hospital admissions under the health insurance scheme.

Reportedly, a total of 4.78 crore and 9.22 crore Ayushman Bharat cards were disbursed during 2019-20 and 2022-23. SP Singh Baghel emphasised that the number of Ayushman cards has increased exponentially over the past few years.

It must be mentioned that the Union government provides ₹5 lakh health cover per family each year to the beneficiaries under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).

Indian govt operationalises 1.5 lakh Ayushman Bharat Health & Wellness Centres by 2022 end

In a statement on December 29 last year, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) informed that 1,50,000 Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) were operationalised before the deadline of December 31, 2023.

PM Narendra Modi applauded the efforts of the nation in accomplishing this feat before the set deadline, and said that these centres will serve to provide citizens all across the nation to easily access and avail primary healthcare facilities.

The first component of the initiative is the Health & Wellness Centres (HWCs), which have been created to deliver Comprehensive Primary Health Care, that is universal and free to users, with a focus on wellness and the delivery of an expanded range of services closer to the community.

The second component is the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) which provides health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per year to over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families for seeking secondary and tertiary care.

HWCs are envisaged to deliver expanded range services that go beyond Maternal and child health care services to include care for non-communicable diseases, palliative and rehabilitative care, Oral, Eye and ENT care, mental health and first level care for emergencies and trauma , including free essential drugs and diagnostic services.