Free treatment for those above 70: Kerala awaits guidelines; letter sent to Centre

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala is yet to start the scheme to ensure free treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh to those above the age of 70 years through the Ayushman Bharat scheme, as the guidelines from the Centre are yet to be received. Rajan Khobragade, additional chief secretary of the health department, had written multiple times to the National Health Authority for guidelines. The government is of the stand that the scheme can be started as soon as a reply is received.

It has been agreed that 60 per cent of the project will be borne by the Centre and 40 per cent by the state. However, the amount is yet to be announced. At present, Ayushman Bharat scheme is being implemented in Kerala by merging it with the Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP). Free treatment scheme for those above 70 years of age will also be implemented in a similar manner. There are 202 government hospitals and 386 private hospitals under KASP.

It was decided to start the central scheme's registration in the State of Kerala after the guidelines came out. However, people are already registering through the central government's website.

Odisha to implement scheme soon

NEW DELHI: The Odisha government will soon implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme introduced by the Centre in 2018. Earlier, the Naveen Patnaik government had refused to implement it, saying that the state scheme was the best. At the same time, there is a war of words between the ruling and opposition parties over the non-implementation of the project in Delhi and Bengal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier criticised the non-implementation of the scheme in these areas. The Aam Aadmi Party is of the view that the central scheme need not be implemented as the Delhi government has ensured free treatment in Delhi. The Trinamool Congress says that the 'Swasthya Sathi' scheme in Bengal is a better scheme than the central scheme.