Budget 2024: ASHA workers to be covered under Ayushman Bharat, announces FM Sitharaman

The Indian government has taken a significant step by extending the benefits of its renowned health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat, to Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, Anganwadi workers, and helpers. These community health volunteers, who play a crucial role in bridging the gap between rural communities and the healthcare system, will now have access to the comprehensive coverage provided by Ayushman Bharat.

During her interim budget speech for 2024-25, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the extension of healthcare coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme to all ASHA workers, Anganwadi Workers, and Helpers. This move recognizes the invaluable contribution of these frontline health workers towards the well-being of society.

Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), launched in 2018, is designed to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in India. It offers cashless and inpatient medical care services up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year to economically disadvantaged beneficiaries identified through the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011. AB-PMJAY is recognized as the world’s largest government-funded health insurance scheme.

This inclusivity in Ayushman Bharat’s beneficiary groups has been implemented through a phased approach. In its first phase targeting the years 2018-2019, the scheme covered socio-economically deprived families identified via the SECC 2011, making around 50 crore individuals eligible. This phase involved the issuance of AB-PMJAY cards for receiving cashless inpatient healthcare services.

In its second phase onwards from 2019, the scheme expanded further, encompassing additional categories like senior citizens above 60 years through the Ayushman Bharat Senior Citizen Health Assurance Programme (AB-SCHAP), employees covered under Employee State Insurance (ESI) and Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) via the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), and the transgender community with inclusion based on self-declaration.

Himanshu Sikka, Sector Head – Health, Nutrition & WASH at IPE Global, an international development consulting firm, emphasized that extending Ayushman Bharat coverage to frontline health workers like ANM and ASHA helps bridge the existing gaps in healthcare human resources.

The recent announcement of covering Anganwadi and ASHA workers under Ayushman Bharat acknowledges their crucial role in community health, while the consolidation of maternal and child healthcare schemes highlights the focus on holistic well-being, as noted by Dr. Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD and CEO of Fortis Healthcare.