Context : 

The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has urged Gig Workers and platform workers to register on the e-Shram portal for formal recognition and access to Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).

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• The Union budget includes measures for gig workers, such as registration of online platform workers on e-Shram portal, issuing identity cards to them, and for healthcare coverage under the AB-PMJAY.
• The Ministry of Labour and Employment is set to launch the scheme soon and encourages the platform to register early to receive benefits.
• The Centre asked platform aggregators to disseminate this information among the platform workers engaged with them and facilitate their registration on the e-Shram portal.

Ayushman Bharat

• Ayushman Bharat, a flagship scheme of Government of India, was launched as recommended by the National Health Policy of 2017, to achieve the vision of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
• It aims to undertake path breaking interventions to holistically address the healthcare system (covering prevention, promotion and ambulatory care) at the primary, secondary and tertiary level. 

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) comprising of two inter-related components, which are -

• Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs)
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)

• It was launched on 23rd September, 2018 at Ranchi, Jharkhand.
• It is the world’s largest publicly funded health assurance scheme as it covers over 12 crore families, or nearly 55 crore individuals.
• As of September 2024, the scheme is operational in 33 States and Union Territories (UTs) except the NCT of Delhi, West Bengal, and Odisha.
• In September 2024, the Union Cabinet expanded AB PM-JAY, offering free health coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per family to all senior citizens aged 70 and above, benefiting 4.5 crore families and 6 crore seniors.

Key features under the scheme

• It provides health coverage of up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.
• PM-JAY imposes no restrictions on family size, age, or gender, ensuring inclusivity for all.
• The scheme covers up to 3 days of prehospitalization and 15 days of post-hospitalization expenses, including diagnostics and medications.
• Beneficiaries enjoy cashless healthcare services at the point of care.
• This scheme prevents over 6 crore Indians from falling into poverty yearly due to healthcare expenses.
• Public hospitals are reimbursed for the healthcare services at par with the private hospitals.

Overview of the scheme’s achievements

• As of September 2024, AB PMJAY has significantly improved healthcare accessibility across India and issued over 35.4 crore Ayushman cards (49% of the Ayushman cards have been issued to women).
• The Scheme has authorized 7.79 crore hospital admissions, providing ₹1,07,125 crores in financial coverage. 
• AB PM-JAY has successfully empanelled 30,529 hospitals across the country, with 17,063 public and 13,466 private hospitals.