Centre Aiming At 40,000 Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centers By The End Of 2019-20: Union Health Minister

Aiming to take affordable health care to the last citizen of the country, the Centre is planning to have 40,000 Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) by the end of 2019-20, reports The Hindu.

Informing the Rajya Sabha about the government's initiatives, the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “The target for operationalising AB-HWCs by the end of 2019-20 is 40,000. Out of these, as reported by the States and Union Territories, 19,567 AB-HWCs have been operationalised till 5 July 2019,”

The minister also apprised that currently 15,965 hospitals are empanelled under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), out of which 7,997 are private and 7,968 are public establishments.

"Only Delhi, Odisha and Telangana have not signed the MoU. At present, the scheme is operational in 30 States and UTs. The implementation of the scheme has been rolled back in West Bengal by the State government. These States have not cited any particular reason for non-implementation of the scheme,” informed the minister.

The minister said that under the PMJAY, 1,393 benefit packages along with their rates have been put in place for usage of hospitals empanelled under the scheme.