Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reviewed the progress of preparations for the launch of ambitious National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), popularly known as “ModiCare”.
“The Prime Minister was apprised of the preparation done so far, including consultations with states, for a smooth and expeditious rollout of the health assurance programme under ‘Ayushman Bharat’ initiative,” said the statement from Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The scheme will provide a cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year and is targeted to cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families.
According to an official from the Union Health Ministry, all efforts are being taken to ready the scheme before August 15, 2018 and launch it on the Independence Day.
Modi stressed on providing maximum benefit to the poor and marginalised sections of society under the scheme, the statement said. Senior officials of the Health Ministry, NITI Aayog and PMO, briefed the Prime Minister on various aspects of the scheme.
The NHPS will be one of the largest government-funded healthcare programmes globally. It will be critical for the government to strengthen the overall healthcare system-including the infrastructure, availability of healthcare professionals and even the regulatory environment-for the effective implementation of the NHPS, said the official.
last month, on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, the Prime Minister had inaugurated the first Health and Wellness Centre under Ayushman Bharat at Bijapur in Chhattisgarh.