Four states, one UT sign pact for Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme, Punjab says no
SHIMLA: In a major embarrassment, Punjab government declined to ink memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the central government to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme, a health cover for the poor families, under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission. Four BJP-ruled north Indian states and one Union Territory signed the pact in presence of Union health minister Jagat Parpaksh Nadda here on Monday.
The states and the UT that signed the memorandum are Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Chandigarh.
Speaking on the occasion, Nadda said the government’s health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat, would promote wellness centres for preventive and curative care, benefiting over 10 crore families living below the poverty line in the country. Universal health check-up would be ensured for the people before they attain the age of 30. “Ayushman Bharat was the biggest health insurance scheme of the world and this has a potential to bring revolution in country's health sector,” said Nadda while addressing the gathering.
Punjab's health minister Brahm Mohindra expressed reservations over the centre’s scheme. “The Punjab government is running some health insurance schemes. We are yet to study the convergence of existing schemes with this one. We also have issues about 60:40 ratio of funding by the Centre,” he said.
“We are not averse to the new scheme. It is a matter of time. Let them address our objections first,” he said, adding “I have spoken to the Union health minister. He has invited me to Delhi to discuss the issues”.
Himachal CM Jai Ram Thakur said it is an innovative scheme launched by the Union government and has the potential to bring revolution in the health sector.