Ayushman Bharat Yojana
Features
Features
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[thumb\|A health and wellness centre established as a part of Ayushman Bharat Yojna at Mahua community development bloc, [Bihar](/wiki/Bihar "Bihar").](/wiki/File:Healthcare_centre_near_Mahua.jpg "Healthcare centre near Mahua.jpg")
Features of PM\-JAY include the following— providing health coverage to 10 crores households or 50 crores Indians; providing a cover of  per family per year for medical treatment in empaneled hospitals, both public and private; offering [cashless payment](/wiki/Cashless_payment "Cashless payment") and [paperless](/wiki/Paperless "Paperless") recordkeeping through the hospital or doctor's office; using criteria from the [Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011](/wiki/Socio_Economic_and_Caste_Census_2011 "Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011") to determine eligibility for benefits; no restriction on family size, age or gender; all pre\-existing medical conditions are covered under the scheme; it covers 3 days of pre\-hospitalisation and 15 days of post\-hospitalisation, including diagnostic care and expenses on medicines; the scheme is portable and a beneficiary can avail medical treatment at any PM\-JAY empanelled hospital outside their state and anywhere in the country; providing access to free [COVID\-19 testing](/wiki/COVID-19_testing "COVID-19 testing").

In India, rather than focusing on strengthening essential primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare in the public system, a shift toward an insurance\-based system has been promoted. Chronic underfunding of India's public health sector compared to private sector, and the liberalization of the market for private health insurance by the Indian government in the late 1990s resulted in increased health disparities, as private health insurance is only affordable for higher class, richer communities. In the mid 2000s, government\-funded health insurance emerged as a new type of healthcare financing, helping individuals prevent catastrophic out\-of\-pocket health expenditures. Through this model, the state would pay premiums to private insurers that would allow eligible individuals to receive free treatment at any public or private institution that has joined the PMJAY scheme. The Indian government recognized that individual out\-of\-pocket expenditures were pushing people into poverty and treatment in government hospitals could not protect people against catastrophic health expenditures. The alternative of government\-funded health insurance allows poorer individuals to still be able to access private health care without the extra expenses.

The revenue of government hospitals has increased due to the Ayushman scheme, patients are receiving better facilities. Previously patients hesitant to visit government hospitals due to the lack of healthcare amenities, people now flock to these hospitals as they trust them for treatment under the Ayushman scheme.


Can a beneficiary receive medical treatment outside their state?