Odisha Not To Implement Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Yojana: Health Minister

Bhubaneswar: Health and family welfare minister Pratap Jena on Thursday said that the state government has decided to implement its own scheme Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana and hence will not implement Centre’s health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

“The Ayushman Bharat Yojana was meant for 61 lakh families of Odisha while Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana covers 70 lakh families of the state. As the healthcare scheme of the state government will be more beneficial than that of the Centre, it has been decided to implement our own scheme”, the minister informed.

The chief minister had announced on June 12 that the health assurance scheme would benefit around 3.5 crore people from over 70 lakh families in the state. Under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, a family can avail up to Rs 5 lakh per annum to meet healthcare expenditure in all government-run hospitals. The scheme will come into effect from August 15 this year.