Hope, nervousness among potential beneficiaries ahead of PM-JAY rollout in Delhi

Mixed emotions among Delhi residents as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana beneficiaries express concerns over existing health benefits.

A day before the first batch of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) beneficiaries in Delhi is set to get their health insurance cards, patients and their caretakers on Wednesday expressed mixed emotions about the rollout of the Central government scheme.

While a few potential beneficiaries said the scheme, which provides annual health coverage of up to ₹10 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation, said they were unable to access the programme’s basic details, such as how to enrol oneself in it, others were apprehensive about losing their existing health benefits on getting the PM-JAY cards.

Sources in the Health Department said that no order has been issued yet regarding the outcome of PM-JAY enrolment on the existing healthcare schemes.

Rahul (name changed upon request), who tends to his 22-year-old brother getting treatment for Stage 2 blood cancer at Gangaram Hospital free of cost through the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) benefits, is worried that if his family gets enlisted under PM-JAY, it would stop receiving the EWS benefits.

“The treatment is well beyond our means. The monthly costs come to well over ₹10 lakh, whereas the PM-JAY scheme has an annual cap of ₹10 lakh per family. If we become part of it and lose out on the EWS benefits, we won’t be able to afford his treatment beyond a month,” he said.

Hospitals built on land allotted at concessional rates are mandated to reserve 10% of their beds for EWS patients, who receive free treatment without an upper limit. The beneficiaries have to renew their applications every six months.

Delhi has approximately 1,000 EWS beds across 62 private hospitals.