‘Modicare scheme will benefit common man’
structural mechanism to see that it works smoothly. Unlike GST, which is the same for everyone, here states will come out with different proposals. So X state may not be using the Y state model.
Has any state agreed to come on board yet?
No, the consultation is going on; the secretary, health is chairing it.
Will oppositionruled states come on board?
Yes. This is not about BJP or Modi. It is Modiji’s commitment, Modicare, for the common man and it has to reach the common man.
What was the PM’S role in this?
He was fully involved in guiding and discussing shortcomings. (He was concerned about) how will it reach everyone? What methodology will be used? There were several presentations on that. It’s not just for the BPL, it’s for “poor and vulnerable”, which raised the number of those covered from 4 crore to 10 crore families.
What is the ballmark budget for NHPS when it fully rolls out?
Whatever it takes, we are committed to it. It’s demand-driven.
As people start joining in and as things roll out, the budget provisions will be increased. (The budget) will increase as more and more states join in and that will determine the premium. We have keep aside 2,000 crore (for Modicare) but budget is not an issue. It is a commitment we will keep. That is how we function.
The dialysis programme had no budget, but it now gets R 900 crore every year. It took a full year for it to roll out. Districts needed machines, private players had to come in, Mous had to be signed, not with us but with the district hospital—it all took time but today 2.21 lakh patients are on dialysis, more than 11 lakh sessions have happened at public facilities..
The opposition wants to know where the money will come from.₹
Their job is to dilute the issue. If they were serious about the issue, they would have wanted to know how it will reach patients. If they had asked whether there will be insurance model or trust model, which one is successful, which is not… study to koi karta nahin hai (no one studies the issue). They just want to oppose.
When the prime minister has made a commitment, then it is a financial commitment and we’ll do it.
When did work on Modicare begin?
We have been working on it for the past two years. Initially, there was Rs 1 lakh proposal, but many states were already giving it. We had consultations on whether they would like top up or run a separate scheme. We worked all that out and then we came with this scheme.