From primary care to liver transplant, state has moved ahead in healthcare: Minister

Punjab Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education and Research Minister Dr Balbir Singh has claimed that the flagship Aam Aadmi clinics have revolutionised primary healthcare, with 881 clinics recording over 4.59 crore patient visits.A total of 107 medicines and 47 diagnostic tests are being provided free of cost at these clinics, reducing out-of-pocket expenditure of Punjabis. “An additional 235 Aam Aadmi clinics are in the pipeline, ensuring even wider reach,” he said.

In a landmark decision, the Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojna coverage is all set to be enhanced from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per family per year in coming month, providing cashless treatment at government and empanelled private hospitals across Punjab and Chandigarh, said the Health Minister, while adding, “This is a step towards providing universal health care and ensuring that people get cashless treatment worth Rs 10 lakh. Punjab will be the first state in the country where every family will be entitled to cashless treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh.”

He said the free drug initiative had been strengthened with the Essential Medicines List expanded from 276 to 360 medicines. Over ₹104 crore worth of medicines and supplies had been procured since April 2025, he said, adding that the CMOs/SMOs had been authorised to procure EDL, non-EDL drugs at the local level and funds to the tune of Rs 16 crore had been utilised for this purpose since April, ensuring uninterrupted availability of medicines.

In the field of medical education and research, Dr Balbir Singh said Punjab had achieved a historic milestone with the first successful liver transplant in the public sector at the Punjab Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (PILBS), Mohali. Additionally, PG and MBBS seats had been increased across government medical colleges in Amritsar, Patiala, Mohali, Faridkot, and Chandigarh, enhancing tertiary care training capacity.