Meerut: It has been 110 days since the Ayushman Bharat Scheme was launched with much fanfare by the Narendra Modi- government. So far, 722 patients in Meerut have availed of the benefits of free treatment offered under the scheme and out of these, 628 have been discharged after undergoing treatment in empaneled hospitals. Claims worth Rs 15.44 lakh by 126 patients have also been settled during this period.Ayushman Bharat is a flagship scheme of the Modi government that assures a health insurance cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family every year to 50 crore poor citizens. The scheme was rolled out on September 23, 2018.“As many as 57 hospitals have applied for the scheme so far. Out of these, 38 are on panel and others’ applications are pending for approval. Their verification will be completed soon. Also, as many as 26 hospitals are actively taking in patients, which comes down to 68%,” said Dr Pooja Sharma, additional chief medical officer, who is the nodal officer of Ayushman Bharat in Meerut.TOI had earlier reported about the poor response of private hospitals for the scheme. While the number of private hospitals — just 32 — still continues to be low as against the total 250 private hospitals, the number of patients availing the benefits from the scheme is steadily rising. “As many as 722 patients have been admitted under this scheme in the empaneled hospitals. Out of the total 722, as many as 628 patients have been treated and discharged. Also, the claim for 126 patients, which amounts to Rs 15.44 lakh has been settled and others are in the pipeline,” said Dr Sharma.There are a total of 33,957 beneficiaries under this scheme in Meerut — 22,247 beneficiaries in urban areas and 11,710 in the rural areas.Meanwhile, golden cards of 5,539 patients have been made.

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