With the BJP now set to form the government in West Bengal, Ayushman Bharat is expected to be implemented in the state again. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said the scheme would receive approval soon after the new government takes office.
According to National Health Authority estimates, the rollout could extend coverage to over 1.24 crore economically vulnerable families in the state, along with nearly 15.9 lakh elderly citizens aged 70 years and above. Around 3 lakh ASHA and Anganwadi workers are also expected to benefit.
It is still unclear whether Swasthya Sathi will continue separately, be merged with Ayushman Bharat, or operate in an integrated format similar to models adopted by some other states. Several states currently run co-branded versions combining their own healthcare schemes with AB-PMJAY while retaining additional state-funded benefits.
One of the major features of Ayushman Bharat is portability, which allows beneficiaries to access treatment not only within their home state but also at empanelled hospitals across India.
Since its launch in 2018, Ayushman Bharat has recorded more than 10 crore hospital admissions nationwide, with treatment costs amounting to over Rs 1.48 lakh crore.
West Bengal was among the states that initially joined the Centre’s flagship health insurance programme, Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), when it was launched in 2018. At the time, the state was considered well-prepared because it already operated its own healthcare scheme, Swasthya Sathi, introduced in 2016.
Swasthya Sathi provides cashless hospitalisation coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family annually through a network of empanelled government and private hospitals. The scheme is fully funded by the West Bengal government and operates through smart cards issued in the name of the eldest female member of each family. Initially aimed at lower-income households, it was later expanded to cover a much larger section of the state’s population regardless of income level.
Similarly, Ayushman Bharat was launched to provide hospitalisation coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh annually to economically vulnerable families across the country under a cost-sharing arrangement between the Centre and states.
However, West Bengal withdrew from Ayushman Bharat in 2019 after differences emerged between the state and the Centre over implementation and branding. The state government argued that since states contributed significantly to the funding, the scheme should reflect shared ownership rather than being projected solely as a Central initiative. The disagreement intensified after beneficiary cards carried the Prime Minister’s photograph following the scheme’s rebranding as Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY.
After exiting the programme, the previous state government continued expanding Swasthya Sathi instead of adopting AB-PMJAY. According to official data from February 2026, the state scheme covered around 2.45 crore families, or nearly 8.51 crore beneficiaries, through more than 2,900 empanelled hospitals.
Ayushman Bharat, meanwhile, continued to expand nationally. The scheme now provides coverage through a network of over 14,000 hospitals across India and has also been extended to citizens aged 70 years and above.
Public health experts note that both schemes offer substantial hospitalisation support, though they differ in eligibility structure and administration. Ayushman Bharat primarily targets economically vulnerable families identified through socio-economic criteria, while Swasthya Sathi was broadened to include a much larger population base within the state.
Experts have also pointed out that operational challenges such as unnecessary procedures, inflated billing, and irregularities in private hospitals have been reported under multiple public insurance programmes, including both Swasthya Sathi and Ayushman Bharat.
