Caring for Health

The NDA government's flagship healthcare programme-Ayushman Bharat-needs to address concerns of streamlining the scheme and open its doors to private players

- NEETU CHANDRA SHARMA

WITH THE NATIONAL Democratic Alliance (NDA) securing another term, all eyes in the private healthcare sector are on the potential reforms to the flagship health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat.

The ambitious scheme, launched in September 2018, aims to provide health coverage of ₹5 lakh per beneficiary family per annum to over 500 million citizens and has been touted as the world's largest health protection programme. Although Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PM-JAY) claims to have reduced out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for millions of families, it has faced operational challenges.

The industry says one of the major issues is delayed reimbursements to private hospitals, which has led to cash flow problems and hampered their operational efficiency. The delays in reimbursements have discouraged some hospitals from seeking empanelment under the scheme. Private hospitals have swiftly reached out to the newly-appointed Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda to convey their concerns and advocate for more efficient payment processes.