Ayushman Bharat & National Health Policies
The Ayushman Bharat initiative, launched in 2018 pursuant to the National Health Policy 2017 recommendations, represents a structural shift from segmented healthcare delivery to an integrated continuum-of-care model. It rests on two fundamental pillars: Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (formerly Health and Wellness Centres) for comprehensive primary healthcare, and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY). PM-JAY is the world's largest government-funded health assurance scheme, offering secondary and tertiary hospitalization coverage of up to five lakh rupees per eligible beneficiary family annually. Complemented by the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, which implements Ayushman Bharat Health Account IDs, the architecture strengthens health records interoperability and equitable access across public and empanelled private hospitals.
Key Concepts & Examination Highlights
- Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY provides health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospital care.
- The National Health Policy (NHP) 2017 set the goal of increasing public health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP.
- The Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) is a 14-digit unique health identifier under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.
- National Health Authority (NHA) is the apex statutory body responsible for implementing PM-JAY and ABDM.