Rajasthan to Merge Chiranjeevi Scheme with Ayushman Bharat | 05 Jan 2024

Why in News?

• The Rajasthan government has sought the union health ministry's approval to integrate the state's Chiranjeevi health insurance scheme with the Centre's Ayushman Bharat programme into Ayushman Bharat Mukhyamantri Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme.

Key Points

• The Ayushman Bharat Mukhyamantri Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme, is expected to retain the existing benefits of the state scheme, including a ₹25 lakh insurance cover in both private and government hospitals.
• The state government has directed districts to issue new cards by 26th January, 2024, aligning with national efforts to cover all Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries.
• The Chiranjeevi scheme, introduced by former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, offers higher coverage compared to the Ayushman Bharat's ₹5 lakh.
• Since its launch in May 2021, the Chiranjeevi scheme has provided universal health coverage to all Rajasthani families. Its coverage was recently increased from ₹10 lakh to ₹25 lakh, with an additional ₹10 lakh for accident coverage.
• More than 100 million families have at least one Ayushman card with Uttar Pradesh leading in the number of beneficiaries at 46 million. Madhya Pradesh follows with 37 million, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh with 20 million each and Maharashtra with 19 million beneficiaries.