West Bengal officially joined the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) on Monday, becoming the 36th State/UT to implement India’s flagship health assurance scheme and completing its nationwide rollout.
The National Health Authority (NHA), under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the West Bengal Department of Health and Family Welfare at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, in the presence of Union Health Minister JP Nadda and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Under this scheme, approximately 1.43 crore families will benefit — comprising 1.24 crore eligible households, around 3.06 lakh families of ASHAs, Anganwadi Workers and Helpers, and nearly 15.95 lakh families of senior citizens aged 70 years and above. Each family receives cashless health coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per year.
Nationally, beneficiaries have availed over 12 crore treatments worth more than ₹1.82 lakh crore under PM-JAY, and out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure has declined from 64.6% in 2018 to 43.4% today.
Written by: Arundhuti Chatterjee & Sharon Bose
Graphics by: Pramit Hazra
