‘Action will be taken against erring hospitals’

Amritsar, February 28

Dr Indu Bhushan, CEO, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), attended a meeting of executive officials of northern states here on Friday. While interacting with media, he said strict action would be taken against hospitals and individuals involved in any fraud or embezzlements while implementing the scheme. Bhushan said 86 lakh persons had taken the benefit under the scheme till date. The government had spent around Rs 11,000 crore on the scheme.

Ayushman Bharat, a flagship scheme of the Central Government, provides a cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to over 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable entitled families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries).

Currently being implemented in 33 states and UTs, the scheme provides cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiary at the point of service. Under this scheme there are 1,578 health benefit packages with defined rates. Over 22,000 public and private hospitals have been empanelled across the country to provide inpatient services to the beneficiaries. The Punjab Government has implemented the scheme as Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojna and generated 41,26,242 e-cards till date. — TNS