Now under the Centre's flagship health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat will provide medical cover to transgenders and support medical intervention like sex change operations. The benefits of under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), will be extended to transgenders under the government's new scheme, Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE). The health cover will include medical support and medical intervention.

The Centre has set out Rs 500 crore for a five-year transgender welfare package.

Secretary of social justice and empowerment R Subrahmanyam said, "There are five components of the new scheme - education, health, skill development, rehabilitation and economic linkages. For health, packages are being worked out under Ayushman Bharat for transgenders. This will cover surgeries and medical support required by transgender persons”, as quoted by ET.

The Ministry will launch SMILE on October 12. This scheme will have two sub categories: Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Welfare of Transgender Persons and Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons engaged in the act of begging.

The SMILE scheme will cover several measures, including welfare measures for transgender persons with focus extensively on rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling, education, skill development, economic linkages with the support of state governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The Health Benefits Package (HBP) Master under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana has been revised by the National Health Authority (NHA), the scheme's apex body.

In revised scheme, according to the NHA, charges for around 400 procedures have been revised, and a new medical management package relating to black fungus has been added. The rate revision has been done in radiation oncology procedures; medical Management procedures like procedure for dengue, acute febrile illness etc; surgical package treatment for black fungus; and other procedures like Right/left heart catheterization, PDA closure, Arthrodesis, Cholecystectomy, appendicectomy etc.

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