The Shortcomings of Ayushman Bharat Yojana
- India is a growing nation, and as it moves towards a more wealthy nation, the burden of lifestyle diseases like diabetes and heart disease is rising, while hospitals are already overworked from treating communicable illnesses like TB and malaria.
- Even though the card is given to the family’s head under the program, any number of family members may sign up to get benefits. As a result, those who do not fit the requirements for Ayushman Bharat may either obtain a card for themselves using a fake poverty certificate or claim a fraudulent link to someone who already has one.
- The deficiencies in the fundamental infrastructure and services in HWCs have largely stayed the same, despite the inclusion of non-communicable illnesses in comprehensive care. This will put further strain on public hospitals and super-specialty clinics and push the poor to choose expensive private treatments that, after a certain point, they can’t afford.
- Under Ayushman Bharat, the prices specified for various treatments are moderate. As a result, services may eventually become less effective or even unprofitable for hospitals. States including Odisha, Delhi, Telangana, Kerala, and Punjab have chosen to opt out because of this.
- The program doesn’t cover those economically vulnerable groups that work in the organized sector and don’t have access to health insurance. These families may become impoverished as a result of significant or unforeseen medical expenses, a problem India has been combating since its independence.
Features and Analysis of Ayushman Bharat Scheme
The Government of India introduced the ‘Ayushman Bharat program in 2018 (as defined in the National Health Policy 2017) to make healthcare services more accessible and affordable to residents, and to help the country meet its aim of universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030.
Ayushman Bharat has been created to achieve the SDGs and its underlying promise to “leave no one behind.” Ayushman Bharat is an endeavor to transform from a sectoral and divided approach to healthcare delivery to a comprehensive, need-based method. It aspires to implement ground-breaking programs to address health issues comprehensively (including prevention, promotion, and ambulatory care) at the basic, intermediate, and higher levels.
The two important characteristics of ‘Ayushman Bharat‘ are as follows:
A. Establish Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs):
The initiative, which was launched in February 2018, aimed to provide quality health services to individuals closer to their homes by creating 1,50,000 Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs).
B. Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY):
The initiative, which was launched in September 2018, aimed to provide hospital and community services to society’s most needy members. More than 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families, or the bottom 40% of India’s population, were to receive medical coverage of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization under the scheme.
PM-JAY will cover practically all secondary care and most tertiary care treatments’ medical and hospitalization costs. PM-JAY has defined 1,350 medical packages that include surgery, medical and daycare treatments, medications, diagnostics, and transportation.
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