Dr. Akshat Agrawal joins, ' Ayushman Bharat- National Health Protection Scheme' to help build a healthier nation

Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Scheme was launched by the Indian government in 2018, which is the world's largest government-funded healthcare scheme. The flagship scheme was initiated on the recommendation of the National Health Policy 2017. The initiative is directed towards vulnerable and poor families across the country. Approximately 50 crore beneficiaries are stated to receive coverage up to 5 lakh rupees per family per year for tertiary hospitalization and secondary care. The scheme aims at making interventions in primary, secondary and tertiary care systems, covering both preventive and promotive health, to address healthcare holistically. 

It consists two inter related schemes:

• Health and Wellness Centres  - In February 2018, the Government of India announced the creation of 1,50,000 Health and Wellness Centres. These would deliver Comprehensive Primary Health Care by bringing healthcare closer to the homes of people covering both maternal and child health services and non-communicable diseases, including free essential drugs and diagnostic services.

• Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) -  The second component under Ayushman Bharat is PM-JAY, which aims at providing health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to poor and vulnerable families. PM-JAY has been rolled out for the bottom 40% of poor and vulnerable population. The households included are based on the deprivation and occupational criteria of Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011.

Dr. Akshat Agrawal an alumnus of Parvati Prema Jagati Saraswati Vihar and a dentist by profession, had always aimed at becoming a healthcare professional from an early age as he wanted to reach out and help the maximum number of people. 

Dr. Agrawal who runs his own clinic in Lakhimpur, U.P, joined the Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Scheme as a programme coordinator for Lakhimpur district, where he is responsible for grievance redressal, Aadhaar seeding, validation of beneficiaries, awareness, monitoring, spot checks, and capacity building.

In spite of being extremely busy, he became a part of the scheme as he felt that it was a very noble initiative, which can save thousands of lives. 

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