Ayushman Bharat

Ayushman Bharat, launched in 2018, is an umbrella health-sector programme intended to move India towards universal health coverage. It combines strengthened comprehensive primary healthcare with financial protection for hospitalisation through two interrelated components.

Health and Wellness Centres

The first component sought to transform 1.5 lakh Sub-Health Centres and Primary Health Centres into Health and Wellness Centres, now known as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. These facilities deliver comprehensive primary healthcare closer to communities, with emphasis on prevention, health promotion and continuity of care.

• Their service package extends beyond maternal and child healthcare to include screening and management of non-communicable diseases, mental healthcare, palliative care and other primary-care needs.
• They provide essential medicines and diagnostic services and connect patients with higher facilities through referral arrangements.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana

The second component, PM-JAY, provides eligible families cashless cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for specified secondary and tertiary hospitalisation. Treatment can be obtained at empanelled public or private hospitals.

• Eligibility was originally based mainly on deprivation and occupational criteria drawn from the Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011.
• The entitlement has no restriction on family size, age or gender, and pre-existing conditions are covered from the first day.
• Benefits are portable across India, enabling eligible beneficiaries to obtain treatment outside their home state at empanelled hospitals.

How the components complement each other

The primary-care component addresses prevention, early diagnosis and routine treatment, while PM-JAY protects households against major hospital expenses. Together, they seek to create a continuum from community-level care to secondary and tertiary treatment.