Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government said Monday that it has sought two changes in the provisions of the Centre’s ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme before implementing it in the state.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kisore Das said Odisha has already implemented its own ‘Biju Swaysthya Kalyan Yojana’ (BSKY), much before the Centre launched the healthcare scheme.
Das said the state government has proposed the Centre not to make Aadhaar card mandatory for the patients seeking to undergo treatment at government hospitals.
“The Aadhaar card can be made mandatory for private hospitals,” Das said. “Under the BSKY there is no such provision of mandatory Aadhaar card for getting treatment,” he added.
The health minister further said the Centre has decided to cover 62 lakh beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat for treatment at private hospitals, but the Odisha government has asked to raise it to 70 lakh.
“The state government has already appraised the Centre of its two conditions in a letter in September and December last year, but there has been no response till date,” Das informed.
PNN & Agencies