No Takers for Ayushman Bharat in Pune District

Nearly two months after the much-lauded Ayushman Bharat scheme was launched across the country, the scheme is yet to take off in Pune. The scheme was launched on September 23 this year as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) in Maharashtra, but Pune district is yet to see a single patient undergoing any sort of procedure under the scheme available at four government hospitals here. The scheme is yet to be passed on to private sector, which will occur from January next year. However, private hospitals are already claiming that rates under the scheme are relatively low. Families that were identified during the Socio-Economy Caste Census (SECC) survey of 2011 are the beneficiaries of the scheme, which is available in as many as 82 health institutes across the state, including government medical colleges and hospitals run by the public health department. Almost all patients requiring financial support from the government are being covered under the state’s existing Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) which includes 972 procedures, while there are 1300 procedures in Ayushman Bharat.

Maharashtra has seen 1600 cases treated under the scheme so far, but it has not had a single taker in Pune district. In Pune district, there are as many as 2.77 lakh beneficiary families in urban areas and 1.79 lakh from rural spots. The scheme is at present available at four hospitals — Sassoon General and Aundh district hospitals in Pune city, Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital in Pimpri and a subdistrict hospital in Manchar. Dr Sudhakar Shinde, chief executive officer of MPJAY, who also heads Ayushman Bharat in the state, said, “Maharashtra is leading in the implementation of the scheme, but popularity takes time. We have hip and knee replacements in the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which is not available in any others. At present, we are getting applications from private hospitals to get the empanelment. From January next year, the scheme will be made available in private hospitals as well.”

Dr Vaibhav Gaikwad, Pune district coordinator of Ayushman Bharat, said, “Since its inception, there have been no takers for the scheme. The portal for applying under MJPJAY and PMJAY is the same and we have started issuing beneficiary cards to the families.” Elaborating on the rates, Dr Sanjay Patil, chairman of the Hospital Board of India (HBI), Pune chapter, added, “The rates have to be revised by the government as the quality was being compromised. The rates determined under the scheme are low even in comparison to the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). Most Ayushman Bharat scheme beneficiaries are already covered under MPJAY. Since procedures overlap, Ayushman Bharat is not being highlighted.” Patil added, “The HBI and Indian Medical Association have said a clear no to the scheme due to the rates. The scheme needs to be made more visible in Maharashtra.” – Pune Mirror