New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI) The Kerala government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Health Agency on Thursday for the implementation of the Centre's flagship health insurance scheme -- Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana Abhiyan (AB-PMJAY) -- in the state.

With Kerala signing the MoU, total 33 states and union territories have become a part of the scheme, said Ayushman Bharat CEO Indu Bhushan.

Bhushan tweeted about the development.

Punjab, Delhi and Telangana are yet to join the scheme.

He further said that more than 3.5 lakh beneficiary e-cards have been issued and 3.8 crore letters have been delivered or on their way to beneficiaries' doorsteps.

The Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM), renamed as AB-PMJAY, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Jharkhand on September 23.

Under the scheme, the government aims at to provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10.74 crore poor families for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation through a network of Empanelled Health Care Providers (EHCP).

There is no cap on family size and age in the scheme, ensuring that nobody is left out.

"Around 38,000 people have availed the benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana so far," Bhushan said.

According to officials, 98 per cent of the beneficiaries have already been identified.

Over 9,000 hospitals, both public and private, have been empanelled for the scheme.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)