Central Government Urges West Bengal, Telangana, Odisha And Delhi To Join Ayushman Bharat For Benefit Of Their People

The Union government on Wednesday (5 June) reached out to the states of Odisha, Telangana, Bengal and Delhi, urging them to to join the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) flagship Ayushman Bharat programme, reports LiveMint.

Union Minister of Health and family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan took the initiative and wrote to the chief ministers of the four states. The minister has reportedly also spoken with the chief ministers of Delhi, Odisha and West Bengal and is trying to contact Telangana’s Chief Minister.

"It is important that the benefits of the visionary scheme like Ayushman Bharat should reach all deprived and vulnerable people in the country. I will make all efforts to convince the remaining states and Union Territories to bring the benefits of the scheme to their people and ensure that no eligible person is deprived of these benefits," said Vardhan, as reported by LiveMint.

In his communique to the chief ministers, Vardhan underscored that he will be ensuring full support and cooperation to the states in aligning their own schemes with Ayushman Bharat.

Vardhan also argued that the states would gain resources, national portability, state-of-the-art technological platforms, implementation systems and world-class analytics system at no additional cost, while also benefiting from a well-proven fraud monitoring and control system and best practices of other states towards ensuring equitable healthcare.