Preparations for Ayushman Bharat began two years before Union finance minister Arun Jaitley announced the government’s flagship health insurance programme in his 2018 Budget speech. Ayushman Bharat offers up to Rs 5 lakh cashless cover for hospitalisation to 100 million poor and vulnerable families for 1,354 treatment packages, but with district hospitals and medical colleges understaffed and overburdened treating people …
