Rajasthan To Integrate Chiranjeevi Scheme And Ayushman Bharat

The BJP Government in Rajasthan wants to integrate Congress’s Health security scheme Chiranjeevi Scheme, with the centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme.

• Both schemes are for health insurance coverage for public welfare.

About Chiranjeevi Scheme

The Rajasthan Government has launched the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme as a part of its Universal Health Coverage program from 1st May 2021.

This scheme provides free health coverage up to Rs. 25 lakh to every household. The package amount includes the expenses incurred for tests, medicines and consultation fees paid to the doctor during the hospitalization period for the patient's illness. The coverage also includes expenses incurred five days before and fifteen days after the patient's discharge.

Under the scheme, eligible families have been divided into two types of categories-

1. Category receiving free benefits:- The State Government covers 100% of the premium for eligible families of certain categories. These categories include families covered under the Food Security Act, families listed in the Socio-Economic Census (SECC) 2011, contractual employees of state government departments/boards/corporations/government companies, small marginal farmers and those who received COVID-19 ex-gratia amount last year. Additionally, destitute and helpless families are also included in the free category.
2. Category to get benefits by paying Rs 850/- per family per year: - Families in the state who are not considered eligible for free benefits, are not government employees or pensioners and are not taking advantage of the Medical Attendance Rules will be selected. These families can now benefit from the scheme by paying only 50 percent of the premium of Rs. 850 per family per year. The remaining 50 percent of the premium will be covered by the government.

About Ayushman Bharat scheme

The Ayushman Bharat scheme is a prominent initiative of the Indian government, launched under the National Health Policy 2017. The primary objective of this scheme is to provide Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to all citizens of India. This program has been designed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensure that no one is left behind.

• Ayushman Bharat is an initiative to transform healthcare delivery from a segmented approach to a comprehensive, need-based system.
• The scheme aims to provide comprehensive healthcare solutions that encompass prevention, promotion and ambulatory care across primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

Components of Ayushman Bharat 

Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs)

• In February 2018, the Indian government announced its plan to establish 150,000 Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs). These centres will be set up by transforming existing sub-centres and Primary Health Centres to provide Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) services. 
• The primary objective of these centres will be to bring healthcare closer to the people's homes. The HWCs will offer maternal and child health services, as well as non-communicable disease treatments, including free essential drugs and diagnostic services.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)

• The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, also known as PM-JAY, is the second component of Ayushman Bharat. It was launched on September 23, 2018, in Ranchi, Jharkhand, by the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.
• The Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY is widely regarded as the world's largest health assurance scheme.
• The initiative aims to provide health coverage of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to over 12 crores of poor and vulnerable families, which is approximately 55 crore beneficiaries, that belong to the bottom 40% of the Indian population.
• The PM-JAY scheme selects households based on the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC 2011) criteria for rural and urban areas.
• PM-JAY was previously known as the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) before it was renamed. 
• It covers families that were previously included in the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), which was launched in 2008 and is now a part of PM-JAY. 
• This means that the coverage mentioned under PM-JAY also includes families that are not present in the SECC 2011 database but were covered under RSBY. 
• The Government completely funds PM-JAY and the cost of implementation is shared between the Central and State Governments.