On 13th January 2025, Odisha took a step towards ‘Viksit Bharat’ and ‘Utkarsh Odisha’ by becoming the 34th state to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Health Authority (NHA)

AB PM-JAY will converge with Odisha’s existing Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana (GJAY), offering a health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year, with an additional Rs 5 lakh for women members.

It will cover around 1.03 crore families (4.5 crore people) and provide access to nearly 2,000 medical procedures across 27 specialties.

The scheme also benefits people aged 70 and above through the Ayushman Vay Vandana Card.

The scheme will provide cashless treatment in over 29,000 empaneled hospitals, significantly benefiting Odisha’s tribal, underprivileged, and migrant populations.

The impact of the program since its inception includes

• 8.19 crore hospital admissions,

• ₹1.13 lakh crore spent on healthcare for marginalized communities,

• In remote and conflict-prone areas, such as Bastar and Bijapur, hospital admissions have increased,

• In Madhya Pradesh, there was a 30-fold rise in hospital admissions,

• Additionally, access to cancer treatment has increased by 33%, improving early diagnosis and health-seeking behavior, especially among women.