PM Modi launches Ayushman Bharat scheme from Jharkhand Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana PMJAY-Ayushman Bharat from here Sunday. Describing it as a "game changer", Modi said the scheme was a step towards serving the poor people of the country and it would come into effect from Sunday. "Some call it Modicare, some call it a scheme for the poor. It is definitely a scheme to serve the poor," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched Ayushman Bharat , world's largest government-funded healthcare scheme in Jharkhand 's capital Ranchi.With the roll out of the Centre's flagship scheme which has been renamed as PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), the Narendra Modi-led NDA government aims to provide healthcare facilities to over 10 crore families covering urban and rural poor. All NDA chief ministers launched the scheme from their respective states.The scheme will become operational from September 25 on the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, Niti Aayog member V K Paul said.The ambitious scheme offers an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh, which will cover 10 crore poor families or almost 50 crore persons. In his Independence Day speech, Modi had announced that while the scheme would initially cover 10 crore poor families as per the socio-economic census of 2011, it will in the coming days also benefit the lower middle-class, middle-class and upper-middle class by way of jobs in the medical sector as new hospitals will open in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. The scheme can be a big game-changer for Modi as it comes about half a year before the next Lok Sabha elections. Below is a brief summary of the extent and importance of the scheme.The scheme is targeted at poor, deprived rural families and identified occupational categories of urban workers' families. So, if we were to go by the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data, 8.03 crore families in rural and 2.33 crore in urban areas will be entitled to be covered under these scheme, i.e., it will cover around 50 crore people. To ensure that nobody is left out (especially women, children and the elderly), there will be no cap on the family size and age under the AB-NHPS. The scheme will be cashless and paperless at public hospitals and empanelled private hospitals.Ayushman Bharat may cost the exchequer around Rs 5,000 crore this year because of the time taken to rollout the scheme. The scheme will cost Rs 10,000 crore when its rolled out across India next year. While this year there are likely to be 8 crore beneficiaries, the target is to cover 10 crore by FY 20.In the first year, out of the total expenditure of Rs 5,000 crore, the central government may bear the burden of around Rs 3,000 crore which will increase to almost Rs 7,000 crore in FY20. The scheme aims to provide a benefit cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year. It will subsume the existing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), launched in 2008 by the UPA government.According to international rating agency Moody's, Ayushman Bharat is credit positive for insurance companies as it will aide in higher premium growth. "The launch of universal health coverage is credit positive for the country's insurers because it will help grow health premiums and provide insurers with cross-selling and servicing opportunities," Moody's said in a report last month.The big-bang scheme is targeted at the rural and urban poor, the segment of voters crucial for Modi. While the BJP is already seen as a favourite of the middle class, Modi needs support of the poor voters to win the next elections. The universal health care scheme—if implemented without any big hitches—can sway a large number of voters towards Modi. That's why it is being launched at such a grand scale. The government had asked cabinet ministers to head to their constituencies or their respective states today for simultaneous launch of the scheme. Top BJP leaders fanning out across India to launch the scheme underlines how important it is for Modi to introduce the scheme to the masses. At a time when cost of private health care is shooting up, a universal health insurance scheme is expected to be lapped up by the poor. The scheme can be an ingenious way for Modi to reach out to the poorest of the poor just before the next elections.Perhaps, possible electoral benefits of the scheme is one reason behind its aggressive promotion by the government. All states were asked to set up kiosks at all empanelled hospitals with PM-JAY branding, cover such hospitals with publicity material like banners on the scheme, give uniforms to Arogya Mitras who will guide people about the scheme at hospital and distribute pamphlets to the incoming patients. The states were also asked to go for outdoor advertising for visibility and hold panchayats in villages. “We want to create a brand so that beneficiaries know where to go and whom to contact to get the services under PMJAY. The publicity, especially the audio and visual communication, helps in reaching the beneficiaries effectively,” said Indu Bhushan, the CEO of PMJAY, told ET a few days ago.