Ayushman Bharat, a flagship scheme of Government of India, was launched as recommended by the National Health Policy 2017, to achieve the vision of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This initiative has been designed to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its underlining commitment, which is to “leave no one behind.”

Ayushman Bharat is an attempt to move from sectoral and segmented approach of health service delivery to a comprehensive need-based health care service. This scheme 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. Ayushman Bharat adopts a continuum of care approach, comprising of two inter-related components, which are –

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

Ayushman Arogya Mandir is an attempt to move from a selective approach to health care to deliver comprehensive range of services spanning preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care. It has two components which are complementary to each other. Under its first component, 1,50,000 Ayushman Arogya Mandir will be created to deliver Comprehensive Primary Health Care, that is universal and free to users, with a focus on wellness and the delivery of an expanded range of services closer to the community. The second component is the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) which provides health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per year to over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families for seeking secondary and tertiary care.

Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are envisaged to deliver expanded range services that go beyond Maternal and child health care services to include care for non -communicable diseases, palliative and rehabilitative care, Oral, Eye and ENT care, mental health and first level care for emergencies and trauma, including free essential drugs and diagnostic services.

Expanded range of services

The expansion of services has been planned in incremental manner. As a first step, Screening, Prevention, Control and Management of Non-Communicable Diseases and Chronic Communicable diseases like Tuberculosis and Leprosy has been introduced at Ayushman Arogya Mandir.

1. Care in pregnancy and childbirth.
2. Neonatal and infant health care services
3. Childhood and adolescent health care services.
4. Family planning, Contraceptive services and Other Reproductive Health Care services
5. Management of Communicable diseases: National Health Programs
6. Management of Common Communicable Diseases and General Out-patient care for acute simple illnesses and minor ailments
7. Screening, Prevention, Control and Management of Non-Communicable diseases and chronic communicable disease like TB and Leprosy
8. Basic Oral health care
9. Care for Common Ophthalmic and ENT problems
10. Elderly and Palliative health care services
11. Emergency Medical Services
12. Screening and Basic management of Mental health ailment

Key Components

The delivery of CPHC through Ayushman Arogya Mandir involved is complex task as it requires a paradigm shift at all levels of health systems. The operationalization of Ayushman Arogya Mandir requires several inputs.