On 6 August 2019, the Government of India revoked the special status, or autonomy, granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir, and focused on bringing peace to the UT. Two years have passed and a lot has changed for the better of the people of J&K, in terms of health, jobs, youth empowerment and security. The schemes are being deliberately passed down to the grassroots, and its execution is seen through, bringing much-needed relief to millions of people.
Protecting people from the terrorising outfits and saving their lives since the abrogation of Article 370 has been on the administration's agenda and in the last year, it has lived up to fulfilling that commitment. J&K was the first UT to bring its entire population under Ayushman Bharat scheme.
The J&K administration launched the Sehat scheme under Ayushman Bharat to extend free treatment and cashless health insurance to nearly one crore people in the UT.
Since the launch of the scheme, claims worth Rs 5.46 crore have been settled and paid for 9,647 cashless medical treatments through the golden cards issued under Ayushman Bharat. The universal health coverage scheme Sehat has benefitted 8,77,846 families and 31,71,918 beneficiaries.
Effective grassroot execution
Keeping the faith of the people of the UT, J&K administration has ensured the benefits reach the families. Dr Vikas Padha, senior joint replacement surgeon in a private hospital in J&K, stands witness to J&K residents benefiting from the Sehat scheme. He said: "I have done many knee replacement surgeries for patients who did not have to pay a single penny"
As a result of this scheme, poor and destitute don't have to only go to government-run hospitals for treatment or surgery, rather they can go to any hospital, including private ones, to get necessary treatment in time without worrying about hefty hospital bills.
SEHAT for J&K
Sehat stands for Social, Endeavour for Health and Telemedicine. It provides free-of-cost health insurance to all residents of J&K, giving financial coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family on a floater basis annually. It covers medical procedures including oncology, cardiology, nephrology etc and up to three days of pre-hospitalization and 15 days post-hospitalization expenses like diagnostics and medicines are also included in the scheme.
