With Ayushman Bharat roll-out in Bengal, what happens to Swasthya Sathi beneficiaries?

📌 Summary:

• The new West Bengal government is rolling out the Centre's Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) scheme; existing Swasthya Sathi beneficiaries are likely to be onboarded too
• Ayushman Bharat will cover ~1.43 crore poor families, elderly (70+) and frontline workers (ASHA, Anganwadi); Swasthya Sathi covers ~2.45 crore families with up to Rs 5 lakh annual cover
• Cost-sharing: for PM-JAY beneficiaries, Centre pays 60% and state 40% of premium; for extending cover to other residents, the state pays the entire premium
• Benefit is portability across the national network of 36,000+ empanelled hospitals; the new State Health Authority is uploading patient and hospital data to the national portal; BJP-run Bengal unlikely to seek co-branding

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 — health governance, Centre-state fiscal sharing in welfare schemes, universal health coverage

📝 Prelims Facts:

• PM-JAY beneficiaries: poorest 40% (SECC 2011), all aged 70+, frontline health workers
• PM-JAY cover and Swasthya Sathi cover both up to Rs 5 lakh/family/year; 36,000+ empanelled hospitals; State Health Authority implements PM-JAY

🔑 Key Term: Portability (PM-JAY) — a beneficiary can use the Ayushman card to access empanelled hospitals in any state, not just their home state