THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state will implement the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the flagship healthcare programme of the Central Government, in alliance with the proposed Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi of the state. The Health Department, while inking a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Health Agency (NHA), had underscored that AB-PMJAY will be implemented on its own terms. The new insurance scheme is likely to be rolled out in April 2019.
“The state’s plan is to implement the AB-PMJAY along with the Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi. The framework of the same will be chalked out by the Finance and Health Departments,” said Health Minister K K Shailaja. When asked if the ‘tweaking’ of the AB-PMJAY might invite flak from the NHA, the minister said the agency itself had assured the state that AB-PMJAY is flexible and the state could make necessary changes to it.
“As the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) will be valid till March, the new coverage will come into effect only from April,” she said. The Health Department officers said that as various health insurance schemes in the state are being monitored by various departments including Labour, Social Justice and Health, the state government is weighing the idea of bringing them under one roof.
It was in June the state expedited the commissioning of a brand new ‘Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi’. To work out the procedures and cost it constituted a six-member committee headed by Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation director D Narayana.
It stated that the scheme that is on the cards envisages to bring more beneficiaries and promises better insurance cover. The proposed scheme, while merging the RSBY/Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme-Plus (CHIS Plus) and Karunya scheme, will also be in alliance with the AB-PMJAY.
Overlapping spotted “It was after the finding that there is considerable overlap between RSBY/CHIS Plus and Karunya scheme in terms of coverage, benefits package and delivery of services that the idea of formulating a new health insurance scheme becomes active,” said an officer with the Health Department. However, it is learnt that turning its back on AB-PMJAY might bring a huge loss in the long run that the state government finally made up its mind to sign the MoU. The spurt in population of the elderly and migrant workers in the state was also a reason. The committee that is looking into the aspects of implementing the AB-PMJAY in the state is yet to submit its report.