NHA Sends a Circular to Districts Asking them to Remove All Ineligible Names from the List of Ayushman Bharat Beneficiaries

Just when the world’s largest health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM), is only a month away from its launch, the government of India trying its best to prevent wrong people availing its benefits.

On Tuesday, i.e., August 28, 2018, the NHA (National Health Agency) sent a circular to districts asking them to remove the names of families that are ineligible (who are financially well off in reality) for the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The order is applicable to everyone including businessmen and government officials, and members of Parliament or Legislative Assemblies, who have entered the Socio Economic Caste Census of 2011. The Census is used by the centre to identify all 10.74 Crore beneficiaries for the AB-NHPM scheme (now renamed as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana or PMJAY).

The initiative has been taken by NHA after it was reported in the month of May this year that Sakshi Maharaj (MP of Bharatiya Janata Party) appeared in the list of the beneficiaries for the scheme from Etah. This happened even when some villagers of the same district were not figured in the list.

The states have been asked by NHA to authorize all district magistrates, district collectors, or deputy commissioners to weed out such ineligible beneficiaries from the list, after proper inquiry. It is expected that this exercise may lead to the removal of around 0.1% of the identified beneficiaries from the list.

To know more about the scheme, here’s your Complete Guide to Ayushman Bharat – National Health Insurance Plan.