Mumbai, March 23 (IANS) Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya (Yojana), the world’s largest healthcare scheme, stands today as a boon for lakhs of individuals and families in the country.​

The scheme has given patients battling serious illnesses a new lease on life by eliminating the financial burden of medical treatment. The lower class and economically weaker sections have benefited in particular from this.​

In Nalasopara, Sopara Hospital (under the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation) has emerged as a shining example, providing completely free-of-cost medical services to Ayushman cardholders.​

At this hospital, a wide range of serious and common ailments, including heart-related diseases, pneumonia, respiratory distress, asthma, anaemia (blood deficiency), gastroenteritis, paralysis, malaria, and dengue, are being treated free of cost.​

According to the hospital administration, more than 15 patients have been treated free of charge in the past month.​

Dr Gaurav Wagh, the in-charge of Sopara Hospital, told IANS that these patients were suffering from serious conditions such as pneumonia, heart-related issues, and anaemia, but through their Ayushman cards, they received high-quality medical care at no cost.​

Appealing to the general public, Dr Wagh also urged people to take full advantage of the Ayushman Bharat scheme.​

A patient’s attendant sharing her experience said that her husband, Sheikh, has been admitted to Sopara Hospital for the past 18 days under the scheme.​

She said that her husband was suffering from severe respiratory distress and was admitted to the ICU. She stated that had it not been for the Ayushman Card, it would have been impossible for them to bear the cost of medical treatment.​

Notably, the Ayushman Bharat scheme is the world’s largest public healthcare scheme that aims at providing health insurance of up to Rs. 5 lakhs to each eligible household annually.​

--IANS

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