Jammu, Feb 5 (IANS): The J&K government on Friday said that at least 10.77 lakh golden cards and 10,000 treatments have been done in the region in the first 40 days after the launch of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) SEHAT scheme.

The scheme was e-launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 26, 2020.

Since the roll out of the scheme, 10,000 free and cashless treatments worth Rs 7.21 crore have been provided to the eligible beneficiaries under the scheme, in the first 40 days.

Besides, 10.77 lakh golden cards have been issued in addition to 12.90 lakh golden cards issued under the AB-PMJAY SEHAT scheme.

Financial Commissioner, Health & Medical Education, Atal Dulloo said: "AB-PMJAY SEHAT scheme is a historical step in the direction towards Universal Health Insurance. We have made a humble beginning but there is a long way to go. It is heartening to see residents availing the free and cashless benefits from reputed empanelled hospitals of Jammu and Kashmir."

He further said, "Residents of J&K have already started availing benefits under the scheme from the reputed hospitals outside the UT."

He added that since the launch of scheme, 155 patients have already availed benefits in empanelled hospitals from outside J&K using the portability feature of the AB-PMJAY SEHAT scheme.

AB-PMJAY SEHAT scheme launched by the government covers all the residents of Jammu and Kashmir including the employees and the pensioners as well as their families.

AB-PMJAY SEHAT scheme in convergence with PMJAY aims to provide Universal Health Insurance Coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family on a floater basis. AB-PMJAY SEHAT has the same benefits as available under AB-PMJAY.

AB-PMJAY SEHAT scheme provides cashless access to empanelled health care services for the beneficiaries. More than 24,000 empanelled public and private hospitals (including 229 hospitals empanelled within Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir) are providing benefits under this scheme.

The scheme envisions to help mitigate expenditure on medical treatment to all the residents of Jammu and Kashmir. It covers up to three days of pre-hospitalization and 15 days post-hospitalization expenses such as diagnostics and medicines. There is no restriction on the family size, age or gender. The benefits provided under the scheme are portable across the country.

The registrations under the scheme can be done at any Common Service Centres (CSCs) or empanelled hospitals. A network of more than 5,000 CSCs are up and working. About 24 lakh residents of J&K have already registered under the scheme making 48 per cent of the families eligible for benefits under the scheme.