Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : February 3, 2020 10:37 AM IST
Govt allocates Rs 6,400 crore for the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PMJAY). © Shutterstock
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the union budget 2020 on Saturday (Feb1), pitching for an outlay of Rs 69,000 Cr ($9.6 Bn) towards healthcare, a nearly 10% increase from last year. In 2019-20, the total outlay for the healthcare sector was Rs 62,659.12 crore.
Of the total Rs 69,000 Cr outlay, the government allocates Rs 6400 Cr for Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PMJAY).
Ayushman Bharat Yojana or Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) or National Health Protection Scheme is the government's flagship health insurance scheme. Prime Minister Narendra Modi 25 launched the scheme in September 2018. The scheme aims 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.
Under the scheme, the government had also initiated a programme to set up 1,50,000 health and wellness centres (HWCs) by 2022.
Besides allocating Rs 6,400 crore for the scheme, the government plans to expand the scheme by setting up more hospitals in the tier-II and III cities under the public-private-partnership (PPP) model. According to Sitharaman, PMJAY currently has more than 20K empanelled hospitals.
The Finance Minister also proposed to impose a nominal health cess on the imports of medical equipment. The government plans to use proceeds from this cess for setting up hospitals in tier 2 and 3 cities, she stated. A viability gap funding window will be set up for developing of the hospitals.
In the first phase, the government plans to cover 112 aspirational districts. And the minister said that priority would be given to aspirational districts that don't have hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat.
The minister also proposed to expand the generic medicine retail outlets Jan Aushadhi stores to every district. As per the new plan, the scheme will aim to offer 2000 medicines and 300 surgical instruments by 2024.
The finance minister also highlighted the Fit India movement noting that it is a vital part of the fight against non-communicable diseases coming out of lifestyle issues.
Sitharaman also reiterated the government's commitment to eliminating tuberculosis from India. She announced a new campaign 'TB Harega- Desh Bachega' to eradicate TB, setting a target of 2025.
