Telangana govt opts out of Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme; BJP hits out at 'unilateral, undemocratic and autocratic decision'

Hyderabad: Telangana chose not to implement the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme launched Sunday for the time being citing a state scheme that covered nearly 80 lakh families, drawing flak from opposition BJP. [caption id=“attachment_4960851” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. Twitter/@TenalangaCMO[/caption] One of the reasons for not rolling out the scheme now was that Telangana would continue to implement its own Aarogyasri’ Health Scheme, which covers nearly 80 lakh families in the state, official sources said. “We already have Aarogyasri scheme. As of now, Telangana has not participated in the (central government’s) scheme,” they told PTI. Asked when the Central scheme would be implemented in Telangana, the sources said “as of now Aarogyasri scheme will continue,” adding Telangana’s model of health coverage is a robust programme. However, BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya, in an open letter to Telangana caretaker chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao Sunday described the state government’s decision as a “unilateral, undemocratic and autocratic one.” “It is wrong to look at the scheme from a political point of view but consider the benefits the poorer sections in the state might avail with it,” the Secunderabad MP said in the letter adding KCR before taking a decision on the matter should have consulted the opposition parties. Under Aarogyasri being implemented in the state, only 949 ailments are covered, but Ayushman Bharat covers 1,350, the BJP leader claimed and added, “it could prove to be beneficial for financially poor as they can avail treatment for diseases like cancer.” Therefore, KCR must quit his narrow-minded politics, and abstain from preventing implementation of central schemes in Telangana, Dattatreya said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Ayushman Bharat from Ranchi in Jharkhand and termed it a “game-changer initiative to serve the poor. The Central scheme, which was renamed the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyan (PMJAY), aims to provide a coverage of Rs five lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10 crore poor families. Eligible people can avail of the benefits in the government and listed private hospitals.