Expand scope of Ayushman Bharat to include middle class: Gehlot urges PM

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expand the ambit of Ayushman Bharat to provide Rs 10 lakh health cover and Rs 5 lakh accident insurance for all.

He said apart from the families covered under Social, Economic and Caste Census-2011 (SECC), the middle class too needed a scheme like the Chiranjeevi Yojana in Rajasthan in order to afford a wide range of medical services.

”Due to the costly treatment in today’s era, apart from the eligible families of SECC, the middle class also needs a scheme like Chiranjeevi Yojana across the country. I request you to increase the scope of Ayushman Bharat scheme and implement it on the lines of Chiranjeevi Yojana for all citizens of the country with an insurance of Rs 10 lakh and accident insurance of Rs 5 lakh,” Gehlot said in a tweet.

He said while the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, run by the Centre, covers only 40 per cent of the population and each person gets an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh, the Chiranjeevi Yojana covers about eight crore people in Rajasthan and each individual gets a health insurance of Rs 10 lakh and an accident coverage of Rs 5 lakh.

According to the chief minister, families eligible under SECC and National Food Security Act, and contract workers, small and marginal farmers need not pay any premium while families of any other income groups also can join the Chiranjeevi Yojana by paying an annual premium of Rs 850.