Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday wrote to Union Health & Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan and said if Delhi’s health scheme is stopped and ‘Ayushman Bharat Yojana’ is implemented, then the residents will get affected.
In his letter, the Delhi CM said, “A good health scheme is already implemented in Delhi. Stopping it and implementing another won’t benefit anyone. If Delhi’s Health Scheme is stopped and ‘Ayushman Bharat Yojana’ is implemented, residents will be affected”.
Kejriwal was replying to Dr Harsh Vardhan’s letter dated June 3, in which he had written to Mr Kejriwal, urging him to join the Centre’s flagship health insurance scheme, ‘Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana’ (AB-PMJAY), as the ultimate beneficiary of this collaboration will be the poor and vulnerable people of the country.
Kejriwal also said if the Union Health Minister saw something missing in Delhi’s health scheme then that could be included in it.
“When Delhi’s health service is 10 times better than the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, then why does the central government want to keep the people of Delhi deprived of good and free healthcare?,” the Chief Minister asked.
‘You are a good and an experienced doctor. If you want to give any personal advice to improve anything in the Delhi’s healthcare scheme, then you are most welcome,’ he wrote.
On June 4, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government would not implement Centre’s flagship programme ‘Ayushman Bharat Yojana’.
‘We will provide health facility to 100 per cent population here. We won’t pick and choose. That isn’t needed in Delhi, both poor and rich will receive treatment. It’s the responsibility of the Delhi government to provide treatment to all residents of Delhi,’ he had said.
Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which provides coverage up to Rs five lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation, was launched last September, but Mr Kejriwal refused to implement it.
