New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI) The BJP-led Delhi government inked an MoU with the Centre on Saturday to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, with Union Health Minister J P Nadda terming it an "assurance scheme" and not an insurance scheme as it is "built on trust".

He hit out the previous AAP dispensation, accusing it of depriving the residents of the national capital of the benefits of the scheme due to its "arrogance".

With the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Delhi has become the 35th state/Union Territory to implement the scheme. West Bengal is now the only state which has not implemented it.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced that around 2.35 lakh families will be covered in the first phase and Ayushman Bharat cards will be distributed from April 10.

Under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), eligible families in Delhi will receive an annual health coverage of up to Rs 10 lakh -- Rs 5 lakh from the Centre and the same amount as a top-up from the Delhi government.

Nadda said it was a historic day as what Modi ji envisioned around seven years ago was finally being implemented in the national capital.

Terming AB-PMJAY the world's largest health coverage programme, Nadda said, "It is not an insurance scheme. It is an assurance scheme as it is built on trust." "You do not have to go to any insurance company and show them any certificate or document stating you have undergone treatment for them to then verify the facts.

"No, it is a health assurance scheme that runs on trust. You will get admitted and treated. You will then get an SMS asking if you are satisfied with your treatment and have been discharged. Immediately, the government will transfer the money to that hospital," the Union health minister explained.

Highlighting the impact of this scheme, Nadda said that the out-of-pocket expenditure has declined from around 62 per cent in 2014 to 38 per cent.

Citing a recent Lancet study, he underlined that timely cancer treatment initiation has improved significantly because of AB-PMJAY. "Patients enrolled under it saw a 90 per cent rise in access to cancer treatment within 30 days," he said.

The Union health minister said with the implementation of the scheme in Delhi, 6.54 lakh eligible families in Delhi, which amount to around 30 lakh individuals, will receive an annual health coverage of up to Rs 10 lakh.

Besides, around 6 lakh people aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their economic status, will get Rs 5 lakh of annual coverage under the Ayushman Vay Vandana scheme that was launched in November last year, he added.

Training guns at the previous AAP government, Nadda said that till one-and-half months ago, there were accusations that the Centre was not helping them and was being unjust towards Delhi.

"We have to understand the fallout of right and wrong decisions in politics. The outcome of your (Delhiites) wrong decision (of voting for AAP) was that you were deprived of what should have rightfully yours due to Arvind Kejriwal's ego." He said the Centre had been "urging the (AAP-led) Delhi government to implement the scheme, but they refused. It was said that Modiji would need a rebirth (to implement the scheme in Delhi). The result was that Delhiites trounced him in this election," Nadda said.

He said this "arrogance" has caused much damage to Delhi's residents.

Nadda also accused Delhi's previous health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj of not implementing the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).

He informed the gathering that the Delhi government will sign another MoU with the Centre on April 10 to implement PM-ABHIM. Following this, Rs 2,400 crore will be given to Delhi for its health infrastructure, the Union minister said.

Holding up his index finger, Nadda said there is a lot of power in it. "When it presses the right button (during elections), what people get is AB-PMJAY and PM-ABHIM. If the wrong button is pressed, liquor is distributed instead of medicines." Chief Minister Gupta thanked the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nadda for implementing the scheme in the national capital.

"This scheme, which is a lifeline for Delhiites, could not be implemented (till now) due to the conspiracy of the previous government. Delhi was an example of how citizens suffer when Central and state governments do not work in tandem towards the same goal," she said.

Gupta alleged it was the previous AAP government's "stubbornness" that prevented the Centre's universal health coverage programme from being rolled out in Delhi whereas people in other states have been availing its benefits for the past several years.

She said the scheme's beneficiaries in Delhi can also avail treatment in around 30,957 hospitals empanelled under AB-PMJAY across India.

"We will complete building the 24 new hospitals that were left unfinished by the previous governments. We have allocated Rs 1,000 crore in the Delhi government's budget for that. This will add around 17,000 beds in Delhi's hospitals," she added.

CM Gupta also thanked the Centre for the 400 new health and wellness centres that will begin operation in Delhi under the name Ayushman Arogya Mandir.

The Ayushman Bharat scheme provides free and cashless treatment for 1,961 medical procedures across 27 specialities, covering the costs of medicines, diagnostic services, hospitalisation, ICU care, surgeries and more.

The MoU was signed between the Delhi government and the National Health Authority in the presence of Nadda, CM Gupta and others. The National Health Authority is the apex body responsible for the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.

The BJP, which came to power in Delhi in February after a gap of more than 26 years, approved the implementation of the scheme at its first cabinet meeting, right after Gupta and six of her ministers took the oath of office on February 20. PTI PLB NSD NSD