Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated a 2-day national workshop ‘Arogya Manthan’ in New Delhi which was held on September 30- October 1, 2019. It was organised by the National Health Authority (NHA) to mark the first anniversary of Ayushman Bharat (AB)- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), which was launched on September 23, 2018 at Ranchi, Jharkhand by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Key Points:
- The names of 111 hospitals found involved in corruption and fraud were put up on NHA’s website as part of the government’s “Name and Shame” initiative to create deterrence among healthcare establishments.
- The hospitals that have done exemplary work will be rewarded through a ‘Name and Fame’ approach.
- Releases: Dr Harsh Vardhan also released an Annual Report of the NHA and a document on ‘Best Practices and Innovation’.
- MoU: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NHA and Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospitals was exchanged on the occasion.
- Honour: Mr Ashit Kumar Modi, producer of Tarak Mehta ka Ulta Chasma was honoured for highlighting PMJAY in one of its episodes.
- Other members: Mr Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (HFW), Dr Vinod K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) , Ms. Preeti Sudan, Secretary (HFW) and Shri Indu Bhushan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NHA and other members were present.
Valedictory function of Arogya Manthan
The Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi presided over the valedictory function of Arogya Manthan.
Key Points:
i. Following initiatives were launched:
- A new Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana – Ayushman Bharat programme mobile application for the Ayushman Bharat, the world’s largest health insurance scheme aimed at securing the health of over 10.70 Crore Poor families in the country.
- The Ayushman Bharat Start-Up Grand Challenge – It is launched in partnership with Startup India as a call to action for the Indian start-up community to generate cutting-edge solutions for supporting the NHA towards more effective implementation of AB-PMJAY.
- A commemorative stamp.
ii. He visited the exhibition on PM-JAY which showcased the journey of the scheme over the past one year.
iii. Award: Jammu and Kashmir was awarded the Best Learning and Sharing Space Award 2019 as it had covered 60% of the beneficiary families, with regard to golden card generation, in less than the first six months of its implementation.
iv. Nearly 50,000 poor were benefited through the scheme in last 1 year.
v. 31 beneficiaries from different states met the Prime Minister to explain the success of the scheme.
vi. Over 20,700 Health & Wellness Centers (HWCs) have become operational across the country under Ayushman Bharat.
About NHA:
♦ It is the successor of National Health Agency.
♦ It is the apex body responsible for implementing ‘Ayushman Bharat (AB)- PMJAY.
About AB- PMJAY:
It is a centrally sponsored scheme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India. It aims at making interventions in primary, secondary and tertiary care systems, covering both preventive and promotive health, to address healthcare holistically by providing coverage up to 5 lakh rupees per family per year.