
The Ayushman Bharat Yojana card is a dud in Karnataka—the health insurance scheme does not cover treatment costs of the needy and elderly citizens enrolled for it.
Recently, a 72-year-old retired government employee diagnosed with gastric cancer was denied cover at the government-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Bengaluru; financially drained and fearful of high costs, he chose to die by suicide.
Other senior citizens are in a similarly hopeless situation. The reason given by hospitals is that the Karnataka government has not yet issued instructions on the use of the Ayushman card.
The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, launched in 2018 to provide affordable healthcare to economically weaker sections, was recently extended to cover all citizens aged 70 and above, socio-economic stratum no bar.
The insurance scheme of Rs 5 lakh a year covers treatment, medication, diagnosis and pre-hospitalisation expenses. What should be an anxiety-free hospital experience is causing distress to senior citizens and others, with the central and state governments at odds over the funding ratio.
Originally fixed at 60:40, the state government claims it is now expected to pay 75 per cent of the cost, forcing it to hold back; it has sought the Centre’s support to implement the cashless hospitalisation scheme.
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao admitted to a delay over the standoff, and said the state is entitled to Rs 36.58 crore from the Centre, but repeated requests have elicited no response.
It has led to bickering on social media, with Rao claiming the Centre wants to take credit for the scheme which is mostly paid for by the state, and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya accusing the state of betraying its elderly.
The central government has sought a report and the National Human Rights Commission has issued notice to the state on why senior citizens are not benefiting from the welfare scheme, which amounts to violation of their right to health.
Caught between the two governments are the ill and the needy, unable to access the free healthcare promised. It would be in citizens’ interest to reach an understanding so that the fund flow is unhindered.
Even as the issue of unfair devolution of funds festers, this should not turn into another federal impasse, as it involves people’s health.