Lok Sabha Question No. 2644 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-04
Subject: Suffering from Critical illnesses
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Chhedi Paswan

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTHAND FAMILYWELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2644 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.08.2023

## SUFFERING FROM CRITICALILLNESSES

## 2644. SHRI CHHEDI PASWAN:

Will the Minister of HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has made any arrangement(s) for the grant of funds for the treatment of patients suffering from critical illnesses and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of the Government funds from which such grants are granted;
- (c) whether the Government has issued Ayushman cards for the treatment of patients living below the poverty line and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the details of the procedure for treatment in Government and private hospitals for Ayushman Card holders in the country?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) to (d) The Umbrella Scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) is a Central Sector Scheme which provides one-time financial assistance to poor patients living below State/UT wise threshold poverty line and suffering from life threatening diseases relating to heart, kidney, liver, cancer, etc. for treatment at any of Super Specialty Government hospitals/institutes. The Umbrella Scheme of RAN has three components as under:

- i. Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) -Financial assistance for treatment of lifethreatening diseases relating to heart, kidney, liver, etc. at Government hospitals/institutes having Super Specialty facilities; ( Maximum financial assistance is Rs. 15 lakhs )
- ii. Health Minister's Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF) - Financial assistance for treatment of cancer at Regional Cancer Centres (RCCs)/ Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCCs) and State Cancer Institutes (SCIs); ( Maximum financial assistance is Rs. 15 lakhs )
- iii. Financial assistance for poor patients suffering from rare diseases - for specified rare diseases for treatment at Government hospitals/institutes having Super Specialty facilities; ( Maximum financial assistance is Rs. 20 lakhs )

More information on the Umbrella Scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi can be accessed at the link: https://main.mohfw.gov.in/Major-Programmes/poor-patients-financial-support

Apart from this, there is a National Policy for Rare Diseases (NPRD), 2021 under which the Government provides financial assistance of upto Rs. 50 lakhs to the patients suffering from any category of the Rare Diseases listed in the policy for treatment in any of the Centres of Excellence (CoE) mentioned in NPRD-2021.

Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) provides health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year to poor and vulnerable entitled families for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization across public and private empanelled hospitals in India. More information on AB-PMJAY can be accessed at the link: https://pmjay.gov.in.

As on 30th July, 2023, a total of 24.30 Crore Ayushman Cards have been created since the implementation of the scheme.

The process for availing treatment under is as follows:

- Apatient visits the dedicated AB-PMJAY kiosk at a public and private empanelled hospital and presents their Ayushman Card. In case they do not possess an Ayushman Card, the Pradhan Mantri Arogya Mitra (PMAM) shall verify the patient's identity and eligibility using National Health Authority (NHA)'s Beneficiary Identification System (BIS) and generate an Ayushman Card for the patient.
- Based on the medical condition of the beneficiary, the empanelled hospital raises the request for pre-authorization.
- Once pre-authorization is approved, beneficiary undergoes the treatment as per the approved package.
- Once treatment is completed, the beneficiary is discharged. At the time of discharge, the beneficiary is provided drugs for 15 days.
- The complete process is cashless and paperless.
- The detailed process flow can be accessed at the link: https://www.pmjay.gov.in/sites/default/files/2018-09/PM-JAY%20Process%20Flow%20at%2

0Empanelled%20Hospitals.pdf