West Bengal Joins AB PM-JAY as 36th State/UT After NHA Signs MoU for Rollout of National Health Coverage Scheme
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The MoU was signed in New Delhi in the presence of Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
West Bengal has officially become the 36th State/Union Territory to adopt Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) after a MoU Signing Ceremony between the National Health Authority (NHA) and the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal.
The MoU was signed in New Delhi in the presence of Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
The agreement marks a significant development in the expansion of India's flagship publicly funded health assurance programme. Since its launch in 2018, AB PM-JAY has been designed to reduce financial barriers to healthcare by providing eligible families with annual health coverage of up to INR 5 lakh for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation.
The scheme has become a key pillar of the Ayushman Bharat initiative, which also supports broader healthcare digitisation efforts through initiatives such as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
With the implementation of AB PM-JAY, eligible beneficiaries in West Bengal will gain access to cashless treatment across a large network of empanelled public and private hospitals nationwide.
The rollout is expected to improve financial protection against high medical expenses while enabling greater portability of healthcare benefits for patients seeking treatment outside their home districts or states.
During earlier discussions around the rollout, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had stated, "We are going to implement the National Health Mission. We are bringing 1 crore 36 lakh families under Ayushman Bharat."
According to government data, more than 44 Cr Ayushman cards have been issued across the country, while over 36,000 public and private hospitals have been empanelled under the scheme.
The expansion into West Bengal is expected to further strengthen the programme's reach and contribute to more uniform healthcare access across India.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the National Health Authority, and the Government of West Bengal also participated in the ceremony, which formalised the state's entry into the national programme.
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