Ayushman Bharat Health & Wellness Centres, renamed Ayushman Arogya Mandir

The Government of India has renamed the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) into Ayushman Arogya Mandir. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has directed the State and the Union Territories governments to make the necessary changes to the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) portal.

The government has also changed the tagline of the AB-HWC to 'Arogyam Paramam Dhanam'.

The Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres are part of the government of India's flagship programme, “Ayushman Bharat”.

Ayushman Bharat Scheme 

The government of India launched the Ayushman Bharat Scheme as per the National Health Policy 2017 to achieve the goal of Universal Health Coverage in India. 

The Government of India's flagship health programme, the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, has been designed to meet the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its underlying commitment to "leave no one behind." 

The National Health Authority, under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is implementing the Ayushman Bharat Scheme.

Ayushman Bharat's scheme is designed to offer a comprehensive need-based healthcare service unlike the earlier sectoral and segmented approach to healthcare service in India.

The scheme aims at prevention, promotion and ambulatory care at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. 

Ayushaman Bharat comprises two interrelated components, 

• Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs)
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)

Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs).

The government of India announced in February 2018 that it would set up 1,50,000 Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) by transforming the existing Sub Centres and Primary Health Centres in the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the first Ayushman Bharat Health Wellness Center at Jangla in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on 14th April 2018. 

Functions of the HWC

• The HWC centres would deliver comprehensive primary health care (CPHC) to bring healthcare closer to people's homes. 
• It covers maternal and child health services and non-communicable diseases. It also provides free essential drugs and diagnostic services.
• The focus of the HWC is on health promotion and prevention. 
• It encourages people and communities to adopt healthy behaviours and lifestyles to reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases and morbidities.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) on 23rd September 2018 in Ranchi, Jharkhand. 

The PM-JAY was earlier called the National Health Protection Scheme. 

In 2018, the government of India merged the  Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) launched in 2008 with the National Health Protection scheme and renamed it as Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

Key Features of PM-JAY

• It is the world's largest health insurance/ assurance scheme fully financed by the government.
• Being a health insurance scheme, the central and state governments jointly pay the premium. The beneficiaries do not pay the premium.
• It provides Rs 5 lakh per family per year of cashless health service for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation in eligible public and private sector hospitals.
• Over 12 crore poor and vulnerable entitled families (approximately 55 crore beneficiaries) are eligible for these benefits based on the deprivation and occupational criteria of the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011) for rural and urban areas respectively.
• There is no restriction on the size of the family size.

Chief Executive Officer of National Health Authority: Dr Ram Sewak Sharma

Important full form for exam:

AB-HDWC/AB-HWC : Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centers (Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres)

PET-JAY (PM-JAY): Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana/Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana