Guwahati: The Assam government launched a healthcare scheme, offering cashless medical treatment up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year. The scheme is aimed at promoting accessible and affordable healthcare, and will initially cover around 26 lakh families, an official statement said. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the ‘Ayushman Asom – Mukhya Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana’ on Wednesday (May 10), coinciding with the completion of two years of his government.
Beneficiaries of the ‘Ayushman Asom’ scheme will be those who are listed under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), the statement said.
The scheme will cover 1,578 healthcare procedures in more than 300 empanelled hospitals within the state and all Ayushman Bharat-listed health facilities across the country.
The cashless medical treatment scheme will “initially cover approximately 26 lakh families and the number will be increased to 32 lakhs in a phased manner”, the statement said.
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Addressing a programme on the occasion, CM Sarma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relentless pursuit of ‘Antyodaya’ to ensure the rise and development of the last person in society was the motivating factor behind the ‘Mukhya Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana’.
Owing to certain limitations, many families belonging to the economically weaker sections were left out of the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana’, which also offers cashless healthcare treatment, he said.
The new scheme will ensure similar cashless healthcare benefits for the families which were left out.
The Atal Amrit Abhiyan Society would be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the new scheme, CM Sarma mentioned.
The chief minister also asserted that the improvement of the healthcare sector is one of the priorities of his government.
Sarma announced the rollout of ‘Mukhya Mantri Lok Seva Arogya Yojana’, a healthcare scheme for employees of the Assam government from August 15.
This would do away with the cumbersome process of reimbursement for medical treatment expenses borne by them.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
