As Rekha Gupta took charge as Chief Minister of Delhi, she prioritised implementing the center’s flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat in the city. Ayushman Bharat Scheme covers economically weaker section of people based on the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) of 2011 and beneficiaries of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) plan. It also all senior citizens aged 70 and above, irrespective of their socio-economic background.
However, until now this central government scheme is available across India except for two states, Delhi and West Bengal. But as the healthcare scheme is now approved by the Delhi cabinet, it will soon be available to Delhi residents. As per media reports, the erstwhile mohalla clinics will also be converted into Arogya Mandirs, which are the local centres under Ayushman Scheme to provide comprehensive healthcare services, including preventive, rehabilitative, curative, and palliative care.
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As per the Chief Minister's announcement, the scheme will provide Rs 10 lakh health insurance to beneficiaries, including Rs 5 lakh each from the centre and the state government.
However, before the scheme is implemented, a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has to be signed between the Centre and Delhi government, and then only implementation can be done. Reportedly, the Minister said that the proceedings have been started and once completed, the scheme will be available to the public.
Under the scheme, health insurance of Rs 5 lakh is provided to the beneficiaries. One can claim this insurance for approved treatments at empanelled government or private hospitals. For eligible seniors, the scheme offers Rs 5 lakh separately.
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The insurance benefits include hospitalisation and tertiary care for 3 days pre- and 15 days post-hospitalisation. Besides this, it also covers medicines, diagnostic services, and follow-up care.
The treatments include ENT, cardiology, gynecology, oncology, hip replacement, knee replacement, pediatric surgery, neurosurgery, accelerated hypertension, mental disorders, general medicine, and many more. There are around 2000 treatments available under the scheme for which insurance can be used. However, states are given the freedom to include more treatments or change the package as per their requirements.
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Mental health is covered under the Ayushman scheme insurance but is also included in the comprehensive healthcare package offered at the health and wellness centres or Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
Once implemented, a beneficiary would need to show their Ayushman Card to the empanelled hospital to avail of the benefit. The card can be applied online on the official website of the Ayushman Scheme.
As of February 21, 2025, overall 36.7 crore cards have been issued, including 23.3 lakh in the last 30 days. The maximum number of cards so far have been issued in Uttar Pradesh (5.21 crore), followed by Madhya Pradesh (4.26 crore), Bihar (3.70 crore), and Maharastra (2.94 crore).
