PANAJI
Nearly 14,000 patients in Goa have had their hospital bills aggregating Rs 5 crore paid under the Centre’s health insurance scheme -- Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, information furnished in Parliament has revealed.
Insurance cover is provided for twenty-seven treatment protocols for various diseases in empanelled secondary and tertiary hospitals, both in the public as well as private sector.
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, JP Nadda, also told Parliament that the scheme is being improvised, even as he revealed that the process for empanelling of more hospitals has been left open-ended and is the responsibility of the
States.
Nadda said, hospital empanelment for the scheme involves a process which takes into account the services available and the need for it.
“The Central government encourages the inclusion of as many hospitals as possible to ensure quality healthcare for all who are eligible,” Nadda wrote in a reply in Parliament..
Thus far, benefits of the scheme have been availed by 89.9 million people across the country and the Centre has spent Rs 1.26 lakh crore. In Goa, 13,913 patients have had their hospital bills paid through this scheme which has cost the Centre Rs 5.21 crore, Nadda said.
The scheme covers treatment costs of up to Rs 5 lakh per person.
There are 30,957 hospitals in the country to provide free treatment to the beneficiaries under the scheme, including 13,866 government hospitals.
Since public health is a state matter, it is the responsibility of the states to include hospitals under the scheme.
