Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna Punjab the state government’s flagship universal health insurance scheme offering cashless medical treatment of up to ₹10 lakh per family per year is quietly rewriting the healthcare story for thousands of Punjab’s youngest citizens. In a landmark development reported in March 2026, a 1-year-old child became one of the scheme’s youngest beneficiaries, receiving life-saving treatment through the Sehat Card without any upfront financial burden on the family. With newborns and infants increasingly accessing critical medical care under the scheme including ICU treatment, cardiac procedures, and surgical interventions the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna is extending its protective reach from the very first days of life.
What Is the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna?
Launched by the Aam Aadmi Party government under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and unveiled in Mohali with the presence of AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna (MMSY) is described by officials as a first-of-its-kind scheme in India offering universal health coverage with no income cap or socio-economic exclusion criteria. Unlike schemes that target only Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, MMSY covers all bonafide residents of Punjab, verified through Aadhaar card and voter identity documents.
The scheme is administered by the Punjab State Health Agency and operates in convergence with the AB PM-JAY (Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) framework at the national level, providing a combined protection umbrella of ₹10 lakh per family annually.
₹10 Lakh Coverage: Key Features of Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna
The Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna provides comprehensive inpatient healthcare coverage across a wide range of treatments and specialisations.
| Feature | Details |
| Maximum Coverage | ₹10 lakh per family per year |
| Treatment Type | Fully cashless at empanelled hospitals |
| Income Criteria | None — universal for all Punjab residents |
| Eligible Families | 65 lakh families, ~3 crore residents |
| Medical Packages | 2,300+ approved treatment packages |
| Hospital Network | 900+ empanelled government and private hospitals |
| Sehat Cards Issued | 26 lakh+ |
| Beneficiary Identification | Aadhaar card and voter ID |
| Application Mode | Hospitals, Common Service Centres, Seva Kendras, online |
The scheme covers secondary and tertiary healthcare — including major surgeries, ICU care, diagnostics, medicines, cardiac procedures, cancer treatment, dialysis, and critically, birth complications and neonatal care.
Newborns and Infants: A New Frontier of Health Protection
The most emotionally resonant recent development under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna is its reach into the lives of Punjab’s youngest residents. In a case documented by Rozana Spokesman on March 24, 2026, a one-year-old child — Punjab’s youngest recorded beneficiary — received life-saving care at an empanelled hospital without the family paying a single rupee out of pocket. The child’s treatment was fully covered under the family’s Sehat Card.
India TV News reports that the scheme is specifically addressing birth complications — one of the primary causes of infant and maternal financial distress in semi-urban and rural Punjab. Families that previously delayed or refused treatment for critically ill newborns due to cost concerns are now presenting at empanelled hospitals on the strength of the Sehat Card alone.
According to Punjab State Health Agency data as of April 2026:
- 1,98,793 free treatments have been approved under the scheme
- ₹3,30,01,32,533 (approximately ₹330 crore) worth of treatment has been authorised
- ₹59,34,18,468 (approximately ₹59 crore) has already been disbursed to hospitals
- Over 33 lakh families are enrolled, with new registrations ongoing daily
Hospital Network: Where Can Beneficiaries Seek Treatment?
One of the most practically significant aspects of the cashless health insurance scheme is its breadth of hospital coverage. As of April 2026, 823 to 900+ hospitals have been empanelled under the scheme, including:
- 4 government medical colleges (including Patiala and Amritsar)
- 4 private medical colleges
- 1 PPP model medical college
- 23 district hospitals
- 41 sub-divisional hospitals
- 151 community health centres
- 559 empanelled private hospitals
Named hospitals in the network include Shri Guru Ram Das Charitable Hospital (Amritsar), Amar Hospital (SAS Nagar), PIMS Medical & Education Charitable Society (Jalandhar), Aadesh Institute of Medical Sciences (Bathinda), and Chintpurni Medical College (Pathankot). The Indian Express confirms that hospitals in Chandigarh are also included, and in cases of medical necessity, beneficiaries can seek treatment outside Punjab using their health card.
Budget 2026–27: ₹2,000 Crore Allocated to Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna
The Punjab government demonstrated its long-term commitment to the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna by allocating ₹2,000 crore in the Punjab Budget 2026–27, released in March 2026 making it one of the single largest budgetary commitments to a state health insurance programme in the country. Punjab News Line reports that the allocation is intended to expand hospital empanelment, increase Sehat Card distribution, and extend coverage to underserved districts where enrolment rates remain below the state average.
The scheme’s overall budget was pegged at ₹12,000 crore in its design phase, covering an estimated 3 crore beneficiaries across the state.
How to Get a Sehat Card: Registration Process
Enrolling in the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna and obtaining a Sehat Card is designed to be accessible through multiple offline and online channels:
- Online — Register via the Punjab government’s official portal using Aadhaar card or Voter ID
- Seva Kendras / Common Service Centres (CSCs) — In-person registration available at all government service centres across Punjab
- Panchayat offices — Community-level registration support in rural areas
- Directly at empanelled hospitals — Patients presenting for treatment can register on-site in qualifying cases
Beneficiaries who do not possess a formal ration card may still be eligible based on Aadhaar-linked residency verification. Pensioners and serving government employees are also covered under the scheme.
Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna Impact on Families
India TV News, reporting in April 2026, spoke to beneficiary families who described the transformational impact of the cashless health scheme on their decision-making during medical emergencies. One of the most common patterns observed by healthcare workers at empanelled hospitals is that families who previously chose to leave a newborn or critically ill child untreated or sought treatment only when the condition was already severe are now arriving within hours of diagnosis.
Officials from the Punjab State Health Agency noted that the scheme has been particularly effective in breaking through financial paralysis in three key areas: neonatal cardiac surgeries, premature infant care requiring extended NICU stays, and emergency obstetric procedures requiring ICU admission. These are precisely the categories where a ₹10 lakh annual limit provides the most meaningful protection, as single episodes of care can cost anywhere from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹8 lakh at private tertiary hospitals.
