- The Indian healthcare sector, especially the public sector, stood starkly exposed during the debilitating pandemic when scores of citizens lost their lives on the back of inadequate infrastructure to support the humongous population without insurance. The private health sector is unaffordable to the lower strata of society which turned out to be a greater concern since the public sector could not handle the mindboggling numbers. Who would ever forget the visuals of scores of people gasping for breath when oxygen cylinders were found to be in short supply across the country? We fervently hope that the pandemic-like situation will not repeat. In hindsight, we could have saved thousands of lives if only our healthcare infrastructure was up to scratch.
PC: Indiaspend
- After the harrowing experience of the pandemic times, the authorities and stakeholders did invest in further sprucing up the healthcare infrastructure, but the sheer volume of our population always makes it inadequate. The Union Government’s flagship Ayushman Bharat scheme was one such healthcare insurance measure introduced that was assumed to benefit needy citizens. Despite the Union Government claiming to have uplifted the lower strata of society from abject poverty, the situation on the ground shows the reality in no uncertain terms that we have a very long way to go before addressing the healthcare insurance requirements for ordinary citizens. Thus, the recent Ayushman coverage extension to elderlies is a great move.
- Nonetheless, the health scheme has many existing problems to contend with. By expanding coverage to all Indians aged 70 and above, the BJP has kept the promise it made before the Lok Sabha elections. Providing an insurance cover of Rs5L per family every year, the move is expected to benefit an additional 6cr senior citizens from 4.5cr families. With this, ground has been laid for universal health coverage of this vulnerable section of our population. Significantly, while India’s 60-plus population is estimated to grow from 8.6% in 2011 to 19.5% by 2050, just 20% of this age group enjoys health coverage today. The government has set aside Rs3,437cr for the initiative. But experts say its financial implication could be larger given the health vulnerabilities of the elderly.
PC: Sangri Times
- Besides, there is the all-important issue of implementation. For, Ayushman has faced a host of problems that need ironing out if it is to meet its goal of reducing out-of-pocket health expenditure. A CAG report last year highlighted that the scheme is riddled with corruption. The empanelled hospitals in many states were found flouting prescribed standards, impacting the quality of their services. Most importantly, there aren’t enough empanelled entities to meet the needs of our population. Private hospitals in many states have curtailed services given payment delays on account of insufficient funds allocation by governments. Hopefully, income-neutral eligibility will put more pressure on authorities to address these lacunae.
