New Delhi, December 25: In a move to achieve universal health coverage for the entire population of Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch on Saturday a health scheme through video conferencing in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Social Endeavour for Health and Telemedicine (SEHAT) scheme will cover one crore population that was not covered previously under the Ayushman Bharat PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PMMJY), making the UT as the first in India to achieve Universal Health Coverage for all. So far, around 30 lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir were covered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
The beneficiaries are entitled to free health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year and there is no restriction on family size, age or gender. Sinha said programmes will be organized across the Union Territory and the distribution of “Golden cards” will be started the same day.
Meanwhile, according to a statement from PMO, the scheme will ensure universal health coverage, and focus on providing financial risk protection and ensuring quality and affordable essential health services to all individuals and communities.
Home Minister Amit Shah and the union territory’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha will also be present on the occasion.
The scheme will provide free of cost insurance cover to all the residents of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, the PMO said, adding that it will provide financial cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family on a floater basis to all residents of the UT. There is provision for operational extension of ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana’ (PM-JAY) to approximately Rs 15 lakh additional families, the PMO statement said, adding that that the scheme will operate on insurance mode in convergence with PM-JAY.
The benefits of the scheme will be portable across the country. The hospitals empanelled under the PM-JAY scheme shall provide services under this scheme as well, the PMO said.