Year Ender 2018: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

New Delhi, January 14, 2019 :

AYUSHMAN BHARAT

Ayushman Bharat is a centrally sponsored programme anchored in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). It is an umbrella of two major health initiatives, namely Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PMJAY). Brief details of these components are as following:

Ayushman Bharat-Health & Wellness Centres (AB-HWC)

Delivery of comprehensive primary health care services through Health &Wellness Centres is a critical component of the newly announced Ayushman Bharat scheme.  It places people and communities at the center of the health care delivery system, making health services responsive, accessible and equitable.

Nearly 1.5 lakh Sub-Centres and Primary Health Centres would be transformed as Health & Wellness Centres by 2022 to provide comprehensive and quality primary care close to the community while ensuring the principles of equity, affordability and universality.

Till date, 4503 HWCs have been operationalized in various states.

Key components of AB-HWC:

• Additional Human Resource – New cadre of health care professional- referred to as the Mid-Level Health Provider- who is a nurse or an Ayurvedic Practitioner trained and accredited for a set of competencies related to primary health care and public health.   Mid-Level Health Provider will lead the team of MPWs and ASHAs at SHC level
• Multiskilling/ Training of existing service providers – upgrading skills to provide expanded package of services
• Efficient logistics system to ensure availability of wide range of drugs and point of care diagnostics
• Robust IT system – to create unique health id and longitudinal health record of all individuals and provision of tele-consultation services

• Provision of services related to indigenous health system and yoga etc for promotion of wellness

• Linkages with schools to train Health and Wellness Ambassadors to enable creating healthy habits in schools

The package of services envisaged at AB-HWC are:

1. Care in pregnancy and child-birth.
2. Neonatal and infant health care services
3. Childhood and adolescent health care services
4. Family planning, Contraceptive services and other Reproductive Health Care services
5. Management of Communicable diseases including National Health Programmes
6. Management of common communicable diseases and outpatient care for acute simple illness and minor ailments.
7. Screening, Prevention, Control and Management of non-communicable diseases.
8. Care for Common Ophthalmic and ENT problems
9. Basic Oral health care
10. Elderly and palliative health care services
11. Emergency Medical Services
12. Screening and Basic management of Mental health ailments

Key benefits for community under AB-HWC:

• Expanded package of primary care services –ranging from maternal and child health, communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases (universal screening, prevention, control and management of five common communicable diseases: hypertension, diabetes and three common cancers – those of the oral cavity, breast and cervix,  primary health care for diseases for the eye, oral health, ENT, mental health, provision of palliative care and care for the elderly, and medical emergencies)
• Wide range of free drugs
• Point of care diagnostics at the centres.
• Tele-consultation services with Medical Officers for complications
• Continuum of care ensured through referral linkages and protocols
• Unique health id – longitudinal health record for each individual
• Services related to indigenous health system and yoga for promotion of wellness.

Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)

Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) aims to cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approx. 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalization.

PMJAY has been launched on September 23, 2018. After the launch of PMJAY, RSBY and SCHIS got subsumed in it.

Key features:

• PMJAY is an entitlement based scheme. This scheme covers poor and vulnerable families based on deprivation and occupational criteria as per SECC (Socio-economic caste census) data.
• As on 30.12.2018:
  • Number of Hospitals Empanelled: 16,112
  • Beneficiaries Admitted: 6,81,825
  • E-cards Issued: 39,48,496
• PMJAY provides cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiary at the point of service in any (both public and private) empanelled hospitals across India. All beneficiary families of RSBY and SCHIS are entitled for benefits under PMJAY.
• Under PMAJY, the States are free to choose the modalities for implementation. They can implement the scheme through insurance company or directly through the Trust/ Society or mixed model.
• There is no restriction on family size, ensuring all members of designated families specifically girl child and senior citizens get coverage.
• At National level, National Health Agency (NHA) in the form of Society has been registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, to implement the scheme. NHA is responsible for all operational matter of PMJAY. NHA is functioning w.e.f. 11.05.2018.
• MoU has been signed between National Health Agency, Government of India and 31 States/UTs namely, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Island, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Jharkhand, Bihar, Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Goa, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
• Out of these 31 States/UTs, 25 states/UTs namely Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Manipur, Gujarat, Nagaland, Sikkim, West Bengal, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Daman & Diu, Haryana, Jharkhand, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Goa, Bihar, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar have launched PMJAY on 23.09.2018.
• Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Council, as an Apex body has been set up to provide policy direction to the scheme.
• More than 1350 packages have been finalized by an expert committee headed by Director General, Health Services and peer reviewed by NITI Aayog.
• Operational Guidelines on various operational matters of PMJAY, Model tender documents etc are in place. Details are available on official website i.e. www.abnhpm.gov.in.