Nat’l Health Authority & Indian Railway jointly organize Ayushman drive

Nat’l Health Authority & Indian Railway jointly organize Ayushman drive

New Delhi, June 26 (HS): PM-JAY Ayushman Bharat in collaboration with the Indian Railways, organized a Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) Beneficiary identification and awareness drive at New Delhi Railway Station.

Similar drives were also carried out at Old Delhi Junction, Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station and Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station in the capital and a total of over 1000 individuals were screened.

This drive was organised to increase awareness about the Government of India’s flagship scheme AB-PMJAY and the benefits offered under it and will enable the contractual staff of the Railways and their families to verify their eligibility under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY at the Beneficiary Identification system (BIS) kiosks and avail secondary and tertiary treatment for serious illnesses anywhere across the country.

Earlier this year, National Health Authority, the apex body responsible for the design and implementation of the scheme in the country, signed an MoU with the Ministry of Railways empaneling 91 hospitals covering 17 zones under PMJAY. This is a step forward to streamline processes of healthcare delivery in the country by bringing in railway hospitals in the PM-JAY network and enable more and more people to seek and avail inpatient care at the country’s best hospitals.

Speaking on the occasion, Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways highlighted that, “Under the visionary and dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is implementing the world’s largest health care initiative, Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). Over 50 crore people are the expected beneficiaries. Indian Railways is proud to partner with the National Health Authority in enabling the country’s poorest and most vulnerable families to access quality healthcare under this noble initiative. Railways has been helping in identification and awareness drives at various stations in Delhi including New Delhi Railway Station, Old Delhi Junction, Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station and Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station. I am informed similar drives have been successfully carried out in Mumbai and Chennai as well. These drives will go a long way in helping take the Government’s programmes to the masses. This initiative will also provide support to members of our contractual staff community who have devoted their lives to Indian Railways.”

Talking about the partnership, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare said, “More than 30 lakh people in the country have availed cashless treatment for life-threatening illnesses like cancer through Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY. There is still a sizeable percentage of the vulnerable population that is not able to access hospital treatment because they do not have the means to afford it. This collaboration with the Indian Railways will enable us to further expand our network to provide quality inpatient care to a large section of the most vulnerable people who are currently left out from any of the Government-run health schemes and programmes.”

In line with this initiative, one pilot has already been successfully conducted on 1st June 2019 in Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (under Central Railways) and at Mumbai Central (under Western Railways) which was followed by a second drive on 18th June at Chennai Central (under Southern Railways).

Dr. Indu Bhushan, CEO, AB-PMJAY and National Health Authority said, “We were inspired by the success of the previous two drives held in Mumbai and Chennai earlier this month and the tremendous response we got from the staff and karamcharis and decided to conduct a third one at a much bigger in scale in Delhi. Partnering with the Indian Railways has enabled us to effectively drive awareness about Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY among potential beneficiaries. We deeply appreciate their support in helping us expand our network by empaneling their hospitals with us.”