More than 460 health and wellness centres have been set up in Meghalaya under a central government scheme, part of 7,588 in the North East region.
In February 2018, the Centre announced the transformation of 1.5 lakh sub-health centres (SHCs) and primary health centres (PHCs) across the country into Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) by December 2022.
As of February 2023, Meghalaya has 465. The aim of these HWCs is to bring healthcare systems closer to the homes of the people by providing comprehensive healthcare, including non-communicable diseases and maternal and child health services, as well as free essential drugs and diagnostic services.
Assam has the bulk of the HWCs in the North East, with 4,427. Tripura has a further 1,027 and Meghalaya is third with 465.
Due to the geographical location, difficult terrain, high rainfall, vast hilly region, large forested areas and large number of ethnic groups, it is a challenge to provide normal healthcare services round the clock to all people in the North East.
Meghalaya is doing well in terms of public healthcare insurance coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) as it has been subsumed under the already existing Megha Health Insurance Scheme (MHIS).
Nearly 18 lakh PMJAY insurance cards have been issued in Meghalaya, with over 6 lakh hospital admissions under the scheme amounting to Rs 524 crore in free treatment provided.
The state has also been granted the second highest amount of funds (Rs 9.65 crore) under the PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, which was launched in October 2021. The objective of the scheme is to strengthen the public health infrastructure through a new generation of reforms to integrate and strengthen health service delivery and public health action, including health research, so that the communities are self-sufficient in managing pandemics or other health crises.
