Patiala, Feb. 23 -- The Punjab health department has scrapped the mandatory requirement of an appointment slip for enrolment under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana (MMSY), which offers free cashless medical treatment of up to Rs.10 lakh to every family in the state. This change is said to have brought relief to beneficiaries as they can now directly approach common service centres (CSCs) for health card issuance.

An official communication, issued by the State Health Agency - a nodal agency for the implementation of the various schemes - to the deputy commissioners, mentioned, "This is in reference to the letter number SHA/2026/1061, dated January 28, whereby issuance of appointment slips by Youth Club coordinators was a mandatory requirement...