West Bengal to implement Ayushman Bharat, Mukhyamantri Swasthya Bima Yojana from August 16 — Here's all we know

West Bengal will implement the central government's healthcare insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat for 1.5 crore families i.e. 6 crore individuals, and the state's cashless coverage scheme Mukhyamantri Swasthya Bima Yojana on August 16, health minister Sharadwat Mukherjee said today.

Saying that 16 August will be observed as ‘Ayushman Diwas’ he added that this brings the people of West Bengal under the same health-security framework as the rest of the country, PTI reported.

The minister added that this marks a “new chapter” and promised that the government will undertake major overhaul of the state's healthcare system.

Ayushman Bharat, Mukhyamantri Swasthya Yojana: What we know

• According to Mukherjee, individuals who do not meet the Centre's eligibility criteria for Ayushman Bharat would be covered by the state government's Mukhyamantri Swasthya Bima Yojana, which provides an equal annual cashless health coverage of up to ₹5 lakh.
• “No money will be charged for issuing Ayushman Bharat cards. No resident of Bengal would remain outside the health-insurance safety net of the government,” the minister stated.
• The minister said a total of 1,930 hospitals in the state — 1,303 private and 627 government facilities, have been brought under the scheme.
• The Centre has allocated around ₹1,000 crore for implementation of Ayushman Bharat in the state, accounting for 60% of the funding, while the remaining 40 per cent will be borne by the state, he added.

• “To prevent unreasonable billing, excessive package charges and other irregularities at private hospitals, a nodal team from the state Health Department would hold review meetings every fortnight. Agreements with private hospitals have also been finalised for the next 90 days,” Mukherjee said.
• He also sought to assure that the TMC government's Swasthya Sathi scheme will not be discontinued immediately.
• “For the next two to three months, Swasthya Sathi, Ayushman Bharat and the Mukhyamantri Swasthya Bima Yojana would operate simultaneously. Swasthya Sathi would be gradually withdrawn only after beneficiaries were shifted to the new schemes in phases and it was established that there were no problems with the services,” he assured.
• According to Mukherjee, the state plans to review the functioning of the schemes over the next two months.
• Addressing past concerns of hospitals turning away patients even when they carried Swasthya Sathi cards, Mukherjee said, “No one can be turned away on the grounds that there are no beds. Let someone try turning a patient away!”

• Beneficiaries have been advised to carry their Aadhaar number when visiting hospitals. “Even those whose names are currently not included in the Ayushman Bharat database can have their eligibility checked and, where applicable, be enrolled in the scheme (at the hospital itself),” an official told PTI.

What are the benefits of Ayushman Bharat?

The government also said around 3.4 crore people in the state are already covered under 'Ayushman Bharat' and would be able to avail themselves of services from August 16.

• A major benefit of Ayushman Bharat is no upper limit on the number of family members covered. Every member of a family will be eligible for the benefit, the minister explained, adding that the health-insurance scheme will also cover the cost of treating pre-existing diseases.
• Under the scheme, costs of medicines, diagnostic tests and follow-up treatment will be covered from three days before hospitalisation until 15 days after discharge, Mukherjee said.

• He further said that residents of West Bengal would be able to avail themselves of the scheme not only at hospitals within the state but also at more than 40,000 empanelled hospitals across the country.
• This would make the scheme useful for migrant workers or residents who fall ill while travelling outside the state.
• The health minister also announced that every citizen above the age of 70 would be brought under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
• Talking of the benefits of the scheme, Mukherjee said those having an ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) ID will no longer need to repeatedly submit their medical history as they did previously.
• By showing their ABHA ID, doctors will be able to access the patient's complete digital medical record, making the treatment process faster and easier, he said.

(With inputs from PTI)