Bhubaneswar: The BJP government has renamed the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) of the previous BJD government in Odisha. The health scheme has been renamed as Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana, announced Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi while tabling the annual Budget for 2024-25 fiscal in the Odisha Assembly today. The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) of the Union Government and the Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana of the state government will be implemented simultaneously in the state to provide cashless treatment to patients, said the Chief Minister.
The BJP government has allocated Rs 5,450 crore for Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana for 2024-25 fiscal. Similarly, the government has made an allocation of Rs 500 crore towards its share for the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme, he added. Now, the people of Odisha can avail cashless treatment in around 27,000 empanelled hospitals in and outside the state under these two health schemes, announced the Chief Minister.
The Centre will bear around 60 per cent of the cost of PM-JAY health scheme. So, there would be less financial burden on Odisha government, he revealed. Notably, the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government had launched the BSKY health insurance scheme in Odisha a few years ago.
Under the scheme, the poor people were availing cashless treatment worth up to Rs 5 lakh in empanelled hospitals. However, the BJD government did not implement the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme in Odisha. The BJP, in its manifesto for 2024 Assembly polls in Odisha, had promised to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme if it was voted to power in the state.
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