Ride-hailing major Ola has partnered with India’s government healthcare scheme Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to facilitate health insurance for Ola’s 2 million driver-partners.
An MoU was signed by Vijay Ghadge, Vice President-Operations, Ola and Dr. Praveen Gedam, Deputy CEO of AB-PMJAY and National Health Authority to extend the benefits of the Centre-sponsored healthcare scheme to provide secondary and tertiary care to driver-partners and their families.
The first phase will see Ola and AB-PMJAY conduct a pilot in Delhi NCR, which will subsequently be rolled out at scale to other cities across the country. Eligible driver-partners as well as Ola employees, across verticals, will be able to avail the benefits of the program and obtain an Ayushman Bharat card at a minimal cost of Rs 30.
“The goal of AB-PMJAY scheme is to provide access to quality curative health care and ensure it reaches every last citizen who is eligible. Ola, as India’s largest mobility platform reaches out to a vast network of drivers,” Dr Praveen Gedam, Deputy CEO, Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY said in a statement.
AB-PMJAY was launched in September last year. As a part of the partnership, the two organizations will work to identify driver-partners eligible for the scheme and provide them with access to benefits under the PM-JAY scheme, giving them access to in-patient care for serious illnesses at a country-wide network of 18,073 government and private hospitals empaneled under PM-JAY. Driver partners can get their AB-PMJAY e-cards issued at the nearest Ola office.
Speaking about the partnership, Vijay Ghadge, Vice President- Operations, Ola, said, “Driver-partners and their welfare are a key priority for us and we are constantly working towards improving their lives and are committed to their well-being. We applaud the government’s efforts to strengthen access to healthcare and widen the scope of coverage. In partnering with Ayushman Bharat, we are addressing the evolving needs of our driver-partners, offering them, and their families, access to reliable and quality healthcare services.”