Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY)

Published: 17th Aug, 2019

Cancer treatments will soon be covered under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY)

Context

Cancer treatments will soon be covered under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY)

About

Facts related to Cancer in India

According to the World Health Organisation, the rate of mortality due to cancer in India is high, with cancer the second most common disease in India with about 3 million deaths per year.
In India, the risk of developing cancer before the age of 75 years for males stands at 9.81% and females at 9.42%.
Total deaths due to cancer in 2018 were around 8 lakhs.
Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer in India, followed by breast cancer and oral cancers.
Since cancer treatment causes massive financial crisis among the people, so the government is likely to include all types of cancers and their treatment under its healthcare packages.

Cancer

Cancer refers to the abnormal growth of cell tissue.
These cells may form a mass called a tumor.
A tumor can be cancerous or benign.
A cancerous tumor is malignant, meaning it can grow and spread to other parts of the body.
A benign tumor means the tumor can grow but will not spread.
The three main treatments for cancer are:
- Surgery: directly removing the tumor
- Chemotherapy: using chemicals to kill cancer cells
- Radiation therapy: using X-rays to kill cancer cells

Ayushman Bharat Yojana

Ayushman Bharat or “Healthy India” is a national initiative launched to achieve the vision of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
It adopts a continuum of care approach, comprising of two inter-related components, which are:
- Establishment of Health and Wellness Centres
- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)

It will provide financial protection to 10.74 crore poor, deprived rural families and identified occupational categories of urban workers’ families as per the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data (approx. 50 crore beneficiaries).
It will have offer a benefit cover of Rs. 500,000 per family per year (on a family floater basis).
It will cover medical and hospitalization expenses for almost all secondary care and most of tertiary care procedures. PM-JAY has defined 1,350 medical packages covering surgery, medical and day care treatments including medicines, diagnostics and transport.
Performance – Till July 2019, 16,000 hospitals have been empanelled, nearly 34 lakh beneficiaries have been admitted, and 9 crore e-cards have been issued.

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