As Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) on September 23 to provide health benefits to the poor, not all the states find it worth implying to their states. So far five states in the country have declined from opting the Centre’s healthcare insurance scheme called Ayushman Bharat. The five states including Delhi, Kerala, Odisha, Punjab, and Telangana have decided to not to bring in the PM Modi’s game changer initiative for the poor.
Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac has called the Prime Minister’s scheme a ‘big fraud’. Whereas, the other states believe that either they already have a better health scheme in their state or the ‘Modicare’ scheme is not adequate enough and is too little, too less, not universal at all.
Why Delhi Rejected PMJAY healthcare scheme?
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal has termed the Prime Minister Modi’s initiative another public relations exercise which will prove to be another jumla.
Pl read – why Ayushman Bharat is another PR exercise and will prove another jumla https://t.co/amoXwoBLco
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) September 23, 2018
According to Delhi government, the insurance covers only six lakh families out of 50 lakh in Delhi. He believes that the Delhi model of the health insurance is a better scheme than that of PM’s ‘Modicare’. Kejriwal has called the scheme another white elephant in the making.
Why Kerala Rejected PMJAY healthcare scheme?
Kerala Finance Minister although not declared to reject the Ayushman Bharat but has criticised and raised questions over the effective implementation of the scheme.
“Under the current Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) programme, benefits up to Rs 30,000 are available on a premium of Rs 1,250. However, Ayushman Bharat promises benefits of Rs 5 lakh on a premium of just Rs 1,110. How is this possible?” asked Isaac.
A prize for anyone who solves the riddle of Ayushmann Bharat! Subsidy ceiling for current RSBY scheme of ₹30000 benefit is ₹1250 . The subsidy for Modi scheme with benefit of ₹5 lak is ₹https://t.co/fDMCwhwvr7 is it possible to have such a jump in benefits for lower premium?
— Thomas Isaac (@drthomasisaac) September 18, 2018
Why Odisha Rejected PMJAY healthcare scheme?
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik believes that the state healthcare scheme ‘Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana’ is better than that of PM Modi’s Ayushman Bharat. He says that the state health scheme covers extra 50 lakh people in Odisha.
Also Read: What is PM Narendra Modi’s new Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan?
Why Telangana Rejected PMJAY healthcare scheme?
Telangana has chosen to decline the Ayushman Bharat and said that its Arogyasree project is already covering 70 per cent of the population that is 80 lakh families in the state.
“We already have the Aarogyasri scheme. As of now, Telangana is not participating in the (central government’s) scheme,” said official sources.
Why Punjab Rejected PMJAY healthcare scheme?
The Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has also decided to refuse the PM Modi’s PMJAY saying that they already have a health insurance scheme in the state.
“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 Centre,” said Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister, Brahm Mohindra.
