India’s government has launched one of the world’s largest publicly-funded health insurance schemes, set to cover some 500 million people.
The Ayushman Bharat programme, dubbed “Modicare” after Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised health cover worth 500 000 rupees ($6 900) to every low-income family to treat serious ailments.
At the occasion of its official roll out in Ranchi, capital of the eastern state of Jharkhand, on Sunday, Modi claimed that a government scheme at “such a grand scale is not being carried out anywhere in the world”.
The prime minister said the scheme will transform India into a medical hub in the future and called it “a big step towards providing good quality and accessible healthcare to the poor of India. ….more