NRC won’t determine eligibility: Ayushman Bharat CEO

Women wait to check if their names have been included in the draft of the National Register of Citizens in Mayoung, about 55 km from Guwahati, on Monday. (AP Photo/File)

Amid the debates over the fate of the 40 lakh people left out of the draft NRC in Assam, the Ayushman Bharat CEO said the entitlements under the soon-to-be-launched National Health Protection Mission (NHPM) would be available to all — whether one is a “legitimate” citizen of Assam or not. “For us the eligibility criteria is deprivations as listed under the 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC). So we will give the benefits to whoever qualifies according to SECC data, NRC or no NRC,” Ayushman Bharat CEO Indu Bhushan told The Indian Express.

A cashless scheme for a maximum of Rs 2 lakh, Assam’s health scheme Atal Amrit Abhiyan (AAA), however, is available to only citizens of Assam with an annual income of Rs 5 lakh or less. The national health agency is working at a hectic pace for a possible announcement of NHPM in the Prime Minister’s Independence Day speech, even though the state from which it will be formally kicked off is yet to be finalised. Assam has already signed up for NHPM —- an insurance/assurance scheme announced in the Union Budget this year for 10.74 crore families. Beneficiaries will get annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh.

“AAA is an individual-based scheme in which they cover about 1.5 crore people. As per SECC data, 27 lakh families will be eligible for NHPM, so we will cover approximately the same numbers,” Ayushman Bharat Deputy CEO Dinesh Arora said. Most states have signed MoUs to be part of the scheme, However, several big states like Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Rajasthan are yet to sign up. Goa and Telangana too have not signed MoUs yet. However, officials are hopeful that by the time NHPM is officially launched, all of these states will come on board.

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Rajasthan, which had cited logistical issues in marrying the national scheme with its ongoing health scheme, is expected to sign up for NHPM soon. Maharashtra, which had cited fund shortage after the Rs 22,000-crore farm loan waiver, may be on board soon too, officials said.

The NHPM will be rolled out in alliance with state health plans – at present 19 states have schemes of their own under which 12.56 crore beneficiaries are covered. More than 17 crore families will be covered under it.