AB-PMJAY substantially reduced out-of-pocket expenditure of poor: Mandaviya

The cashless treatment facility provided by Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY scheme for poor and underserved families has substantially reduced their out-of-pocket expenditure as well as financial bankruptcy due to severe and prolonged illness, and expensive treatment, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday.

Mandaviya interacted virtually with beneficiaries of the scheme from different parts of the country as the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) completes four years of implementation, a statement by the health ministry said.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Bharati Pravin Pawar as well as Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel also attended the programme.

The Union health minister also shared the travails and pain of the beneficiaries and their families who narrated their experience of severe health crisis, and their inability of meeting the healthcare expenditure on their own, the statement said.

They also relived their joy on