A year on, first person to get a golden card ‘yet to avail benefits’
DEHRADUN: A resident of Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district, 43-year-old Tara Devi was the first beneficiary to receive a “golden card” under the government’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat-pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY) on August 15, 2018.
A year on, she says she has not received any benefit under AB-PMJAY, which aims to provide medical coverage of ₹5 lakh per family per annum. A person can avail the benefits only when s/he is admitted in a hospital.
Tara Devi says chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat gave her the physical copy of the card in October, and before that she got a “parchi (slip)” that told her that she had been chosen as the first beneficiary.
Devi, who is an anganwadi worker in Rudraprayag, is the sole breadwinner in her family. Her 48-year-old husband ran a photo studio till he was diagnosed with a cardiac ailment in August last year. The couple has two daughters — one of them is married and the other dropped out after Class 8— and a son, who dropped out after Class 10 and is now trying to find a job.
“When I was chosen as the first recipient of the golden card, it felt like help from god...the same month my husband had to be admitted in a government hospital in Rudraprayag after he suffered a heart attack. I thought I will use it for his treatment, but it was of no use,” she said.
The Ayushman Bharat card, issued by the government, is called a “golden card”. A person can avail of the facilities under the scheme after showing the card to authorities in a hospital.
“I was told that because I did not have a physical copy of the card, I would not be able to avail the benefits,” Tara Devi said. “Every month I take my husband to AIIMS, Rishikesh, but doctors there tell me that I cannot use my card as my husband has not been admitted.”
Mangesh Ghildiyal, the Rudraprayag district magistrate, said, “We know Tara Devi comes from a very poor family. If she has not been able to avail the benefits that she is entitled to under this scheme, then I will personally look into the matter and see that she gets her due.”
Before the official launch of the scheme, pilot projects were conducted at select districts across the country. In Uttarakhand, registrations of ASHA workers were conducted in Rudraprayag and Pauri Garhwal districts in the pilot phase, said Amrit Pokhriyal, the Ayushman Bharat coordinator for Rudraprayag.
“During this, Tara Devi’s registration was done, and when the data was sent to central government, she was chosen as the first beneficiary [to get a golden card],” said Pokhriyal.