Teams verifying the credentials of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries in Calcutta have visited 1 lakh homes out of the 7.6 lakh Swasthya Sathi beneficiaries to be checked in the city, government sources said.
The BJP state government has said that Swasthya Sathi beneficiaries verified as eligible by officials will be shifted to the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the Centre’s public health insurance scheme.
The new government has decided to discontinue Swasthya Sathi, the health insurance scheme of the Trinamool government.
Those aged 70 years or above will be enrolled with no additional eligibility criteria, said government sources.
Many Swasthya Sathi cardholders yet to be visited by government teams are uncertain whether they need to fill out fresh forms to qualify for Ayushman Bharat.
“When I visited a Jan Kalyan Shivir camp last month, I was told government teams would visit my home as I had a Swasthya Sathi card,” said an 80-year-old resident of Kasba.
The camps were organised to enrol citizens in various social welfare schemes.
Sources in the state government said more clarity on such cases would emerge once a standard operating procedure (SOP) on Ayushman Bharat enrolment is published.
“As of now, teams are visiting only those beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) who receive subsidised ration. Other Swasthya Sathi card holders will have to wait until the SOP is finalised,” said an official.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has been given pre-filled forms of NFSA beneficiaries in the city, mainly belonging to economically weaker sections.
Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), who are frontline community health workers, are visiting NFSA beneficiaries with pre-filled forms to enrol them in Ayushman Bharat.
“We have completed visits to nearly 1 lakh beneficiaries in Calcutta. Over 590 ASHA workers are visiting homes and asking beneficiaries to sign pre-filled forms,” said an official.
“Once ASHA workers return with the signed forms, these are verified by government officials. Those clearing scrutiny are uploaded to a state government portal. A second round of verification follows. If approved again, names are queued on another portal,” the official added.
The list is then sent to a central government portal, which prints Ayushman Bharat beneficiary cards and sends them back to the state.
“All borough offices in Calcutta will receive the cards. ASHA workers will again visit beneficiaries’ homes to distribute them,” added the official.
Another official said: “How Swasthya Sathi card holders not under NFSA will be included in Ayushman Bharat will be decided soon. The state is preparing an SOP that will provide clarity on these cases.”