On June 14, 2018, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Shri JP Nadda, signed Memorandum of Understanding with the State Health Ministers of 20 States to launch the Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) at a Health Ministers conclave in New Delhi.
Objectives:
In formalizing the partnership between Centre and States.
Key points:
- AB-NHPM will protect around 50 crore people (from about 10 crore families).
- AB-NHPM will protect the people and at the same time Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) will deliver comprehensive primary health care.
- This would provide preventive, promotive, and curative care for non-communicable diseases, dental, mental, geriatric care, palliative care.
- Government has initiated universal screening of common NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension and common cancers along with Tuberculosis and Leprosy.
- Around 10 states and union territories are expected to implement the scheme through a trust model, while five may do so through a mixture of trust and insurance
- Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Jharkhand are some of the states.
- West Bengal , Odisha, Karnataka, Punjab and Delhi are yet to implement this programme.
- Another 5 states and Union Territories will join this programme by the end of June.
- A web portal for initiating the empanelment of hospitals under the mission was also launched.
- Training / Demo of empanelment software will be conducted and States can operationalize empanelment of hospitals by 1st of July.
About Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM):
Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission is a scheme that was announced by the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitely while presenting the General Budget 2018-19 will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage upto 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission will subsume the on-going centrally sponsored schemes – Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).
Under this scheme ,Rs 1200 crore has been allotted for establishing 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres. 24 new Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals will be set up, by up-grading existing district hospitals in the country.at least 1 Medical College for every 3 Parliamentary Constituencies and at least 1 Government Medical College in each State of the country.