Question

Ayushman Bharat, also known as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), is a revolutionary healthcare scheme launched by the Government of India in 2018.

In this context, answer the following questions:

1. How does Ayushman Bharat contribute to national health goals?
2. What emphasis does Ayushman Bharat place on healthcare?
3. Who benefits from Ayushman Bharat?

Answer 1

1. Ayushman Bharat contributes to national health goals by moving India closer to Universal Health Coverage (UHC). It achieves this by creating a robust two-pillar system: establishing local Health and Wellness Centres for primary care and providing massive financial protection against catastrophic medical expenses to prevent poor families from falling deeper into poverty.
2. The scheme places a strong emphasis on providing comprehensive, preventive, and promotive healthcare at the primary level, alongside offering cashless and paperless secondary and tertiary healthcare treatment. This shift ensures that healthcare focus moves away from just treating illnesses to overall wellness and early diagnosis.
3. The direct beneficiaries are over 10 to 12 crore poor, deprived, and economically vulnerable families (accounting for roughly 50 crore citizens) across both rural and urban areas. Eligibility is automatically determined based on specific occupational and deprivation criteria identified in the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data.