Gujarat Govt doubles insurance cover under PMJAY-MA scheme

New Delhi: In a significant step towards enhancing access to quality healthcare for its citizens, the Gujarat Government has announced an increase in healthcare benefits to Ayushman cardholder families by raising the free treatment limit from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakhs.

The Gujarat Government on Tuesday launched the revamped Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana Mukhyamantri Amrutam (PMJAY-MA) scheme, under which people can avail free medical treatment up to Rs 10 lakh instead of the previous limit of Rs 5 lakh. 

Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel on Tuesday officially launched the revised health insurance scheme from his office in the presence of health department officials, a state government release said.

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Starting Tuesday, beneficiaries of the PMJAY-MA in Gujarat will receive an insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh, which is a two-fold rise from the previous cover of Rs 5 lakh, it stated.

While the Centre's PMJAY is popularly known as Ayushman Bharat, MA stands for the state government's Mukhyamantri Amrutam (MA) scheme, which was merged with the central health scheme.

In the state budget presented in February, state Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai announced the doubling of insurance cover under the PMJAY-MA scheme from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. Now, the announcement has been operationalised.

On the occasion, Patel said people who have Ayushman cards can undergo complex surgeries, treatments and transplants of kidney, heart, liver and even cochlear implants in the limit of Rs 10 lakh.

As per the release, 2,027 state-run hospitals, 803 private and 18 hospitals of the Central government in the state are authorised to provide treatment or perform surgeries under the PMJAY-MA, and 2,471 types of treatments and surgeries are available to cardholders in these hospitals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his stint as the chief minister of Gujarat, had launched the MA scheme with an insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh, which was subsequently increased to Rs 3 lakh. In 2018, the prime minister launched the PMJAY with an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh, the release said.

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