Migrants to receive covid care via Ayushman Bharat scheme
Govt is making a list of migrant workers from states to offer health insurance benefits under AB-PMJAY
NEW DELHI : The government is preparing a list of migrant workers from across states to offer health insurance benefits under the flagship Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) amid the coronavirus crisis.
The National Health Authority (NHA), the implementing agency, said on Wednesday that it was coordinating with state governments to identify eligible beneficiaries, and is setting up a process to issue AB-PMJAY e-cards to migrants at the earliest. The move is aimed at ensuring health cover to the under-privileged during the pandemic.
At present the cashless scheme provides health cover of as much as ₹5 lakh per family a year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to over 107.4 million poor and vulnerable families, or about 530 million individuals.
“The NHA is actively supporting and coordinating with states where migrant labourers are returning. Our aim is to ensure that all eligible migrant workers receive e-cards so that they can access treatment at any of the empanelled hospitals across the country," said Dr. Indu Bhushan, chief executive officer, AB-PMJAY and NHA.
“We are using this opportunity to sensitize the returning migrant workers about the benefits of Ayushman Bharat, particularly about the portability feature of the scheme. Further, we are working with states in empanelling more hospitals and labs and mobilizing the existing hospitals to provide covid and non-covid treatments to our beneficiaries." Bhushan said at least 80% of the 107.4 million PMJAY beneficiary families are in rural India.
The move may provide some relief to India’s floating workforce, who have been under extreme distress since the nationwide lockdown was imposed, leading to loss of livelihood and lives, besides starvation and health complications.
“The NHA is actively supporting and coordinating with states where migrant labourers are returning. Our aim is to ensure that all eligible migrant workers receive e-cards so that they can access treatment at any of the empanelled hospitals across the country," said Dr. Indu Bhushan, chief executive officer, AB-PMJAY and NHA.
“We are using this opportunity to sensitize the returning migrant workers about the benefits of Ayushman Bharat, particularly about the portability feature of the scheme. Further, we are working with states in empanelling more hospitals and labs and mobilizing the existing hospitals to provide covid and non-covid treatments to our beneficiaries." Bhushan said at least 80% of the 107.4 million PMJAY beneficiary families are in rural India.
The move may provide some relief to India’s floating workforce, who have been under extreme distress since the nationwide lockdown was imposed, leading to loss of livelihood and lives, besides starvation and health complications.
“If we look from the health aspect, the exposure and status of infection of the migrant labourers are unknown and if infected will have serious repercussions," said Dr. Suresh Sharma, head, population research centre, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University.
“This crisis definitely gives an opportunity to both the central and state governments to transform and improve the weak health system. The Centre should give equal importance to health as is the case with the defence sector, to be able to contain future pandemics," he said.
