People in Delhi,WB,Odisha,Telangana not getting Ayushman Bharat benefits:Health Minister

Families from the financially weak backgrounds in Delhi,Telangana,Odisha and West Bengal are unable to get medical benefits including insurance under Ayushman Bharat as these states have not implemented the scheme, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Replying to queries, he informed the House during the Question Hour that West Bengal had withdrawn the scheme after implementing it.

READ | Odisha CM Distributes Free Laptops To Students Under 'Biju Sashaktikaran Yojna'

"Ayushman Bharat is being implemented in the entire country. There are four states including Delhi which have not implemented the Ayushman Bharat Scheme -- Delhi, Telangana, Odisha and West Bengal."

"It has benefited 10.75 crore poor families but the people in the four states including Delhi are certainly deprived of the scheme," the Minister said. He said as many as 65.5 lakh admissions in hospitals were done under this in the last one year.

"As on 05.12.2019, the total number of hospital admissions under AB-PMJAY are 65,45,733 amounting to cost of treatment of Rs. 9,549 crore. The average cost per admission is Rs 14,588 (approximately)," he added.

Over 20,000 hospitals have been empanelled till now for the scheme, he said and added that there is an equal number of government and private hospitals.

READ | Prime Minister Narendra Modi Launches PMJAY-Ayushman Bharat, Terms It Biggest Public Funded Healthcare Scheme

In a reply to a supplementary, he said that roughly 60 per cent of the payment under Ayushman Bharat scheme is to private hospitals and 40 per cent is to government hospitals.

Ayushman Bharat Yojana comprises of two components --Comprehensive Primary Healthcare through Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centers and Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

He said services at Ayushman Bharat- Health and Wellness Centres are free and universal to all.

READ | Over 300 Hospitals Get Show-cause Notices For Submitting Forged Claims Under AB-PMJAY

The Minister said Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana provides health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year to around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families identified from Socio-Economic Caste Census database on the basis of select deprivation and occupational criteria in rural and urban areas respectively.

In addition to these 10.74 crore families, many states have identified more groups of beneficiaries for their similar health cover schemes, which are implemented in alliance with AB-PMJAY.

Ayushman Bharat is being implemented in the entire country, except