Health min: Ayushman Bharat implementation by fiscal-end

Bhubaneswar: Odisha govt will implement Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), a health insurance or assurance scheme of the Centre, in the state by the end of March 2025, health minister Mukesh Mahaling told the media here on Friday.

“We have started preparation for its implementation. We will integrate the state’s Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana (G-JAY) with the AB-PMJAY and issue a single card for the beneficiaries,” said Mahaling.

He said they will provide the card to approximately 3.5 crore people of Odisha. “Like PMJAY, we will also include people above 70 years of age to get the facility of this scheme,” he added.

The minister said e-KYC of ration card holders is underway in Odisha. “We will get the real picture of ration card beneficiaries from this exercise and then issue the health cards. Earlier, the state scheme had 957 empanelled hospitals for beneficiaries. But now they will get treatment in 27,000 empanelled hospitals across the state after the integration of the schemes,” he added.

Last month, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced the integration of central and state health insurance schemes. The BJP promised in its Odisha poll manifesto to implement the AB-PMJAY within 100 days of coming to power and cover state residents with an annual income lower than Rs 8 lakh per annum.

The Naveen Patnaik-led govt did not implement AB-PMJAY in Odisha and instead implemented the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, which has now been renamed as G-JAY.

Since the central scheme covers beneficiaries based on deprivation and occupational criteria of the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011), close to 70 lakh families in Odisha are eligible for it. The state scheme covers close to one crore families, all ration card holders.

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