BHUBANESWAR: With healthcare topping the priority list of Narendra Modi Government 2.0, fate of roll out of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in Odisha is likely to be decided next week.CEO of National Health Authority (NHA) and AB-PMJAY Dr Indu Bhusan is expected to hold a meeting with the State Government officials on Tuesday on the modalities to finalise the launch of the scheme in Odisha, reliable sources said.
Odisha’s reluctance to accept Ayushman Bharat scheme was a contentious issue before and during elections as BJP aggressively campaigned for ‘double engine’ Government and blamed the State for not allowing the implementation of Central schemes.
The BJD Government, on its part, implemented its own health assurance scheme - Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) on August 15 last year, a month prior to the nation-wide launch of Ayushman Bharat. Even as Odisha is firm on its reservations that it raised before Union Health Ministry, a consensus among the State and Centre could pave way for the roll-out of the scheme which provides health coverage of Rs 5 lakh per annum per family and improving rural health infrastructure.
While the State-sponsored BSKY provides annual health coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family and Rs 7 lakh for women in Government and empanelled private hospitals, the BJD Government cannot back out from the scheme, which has already gained popularity, as it covers both outdoor and indoor patients unlike the Ayushman Bharat that covers only indoor patients.
On the other hand, not rolling out Ayushman Bharat could also prove tricky. After the Central scheme was announced during Union Budget 2018-19, Odisha had raised several issues regarding its implementation and Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi had sent a letter to Union Health Secretary submitting 11-point charter of demands.
While over 69 lakh families (about 70 per cent population) were covered by Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana (BKKY), the Centre had indicated to support about 61 lakh families under the AB-PMJAY and there were no provisions for the left-out families that meet the deprivation. The non-coverage of eight lakh families was raised by the Naveen Patnaik Government.
The State had also urged the Centre’s permission to collect Aadhaar details at the Gram Sabha levels instead of doing the same at the time of hospitalisation to ensure the beneficiary is provided cashless service at the point of care without overly burdened with the verification process. Now, about 70 lakh families are covered under BSKY and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has promised to raise the coverage for women patients from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.