Reluctant beginner, Punjab races ahead
It’s been a year since the Ayushman Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana was implemented in Punjab. runs a reality check on the state government’s flagship health insurance scheme, covering 46 lakh beneficiaries, to find that nearly 4 lakh patients, most of th
CHANDIGARH: Though Punjab was the first to object to the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme and implemented it after a delay by clubbing it with its own Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojna, it is among the best-performing states on this front a year on.
The state health department says 3.8 lakh patients availed of primary and tertiary care treatment under the scheme, with the government incurring a total cost of ₹453 crore in a year.
Under the scheme, the state government has empanelled 767 hospitals of which 558 are private. While 1.7 lakh people availed the scheme by seeking treatment at government hospitals, 2.11 lakh opted for private hospitals.
EMERGES AS ROLE MODEL
The scheme provides an annual insurance cover of ₹5 lakh to each beneficiary earmarked by the health department. At present, 42.27 lakh families have been covered under the scheme.
As the state has added its existing beneficiaries, the scheme was named the Ayushman Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana. As many as 14.86 lakh poor families were identified on the basis of the Socio-economic Caste Census (SECC) of 2011 for which the Centre and the state share the cost in the 70:30 ratio.
The Punjab government added 16.3 lakh families with smart ration cards, 11.1 lakh J-form holder farmers, sugarcane growers with weighing slips, construction workers, families of registered journalists and small traders for which Punjab pays the premium.
The annual premium is estimated at ₹464.98 crore, with ₹1,100 per family.
“Punjab has been ranked on top along with Kerala in providing benefits to a maximum number of patients. Kerala added an almost equal number of beneficiaries under the scheme. We have emerged as role models for other states,” says secretary, health, Kumar Rahul, who is also the chief executive officer (CEO) of the state health agency implementing the scheme.
“We trained our staff and posted one employee at every empanelled hospital to guide patients on completing documents for claims and which package to opt for. We advertised the scheme well,” says Dr Shaweta, the state health agency additional CEO.
GOVT SET TO EXPAND AMBIT
Extending the insurance scheme for a year, the Punjab cabinet will bring state government employees, pensioners and employees of organised private sectors, boards and corporations in its ambit.
The health department has been asked to prepare a detailed proposal for inclusion of the new categories. “Providing universal health insurance was our election promise. By expanding the cover, the government is fulfilling the promise,” says health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu.
OVERCHARGING A WORRY
Reports of overcharging and fleecing of patients by private hospitals has emerged as a concern for the government. “We have received complaints of overcharging by private hospitals. We de-empanelled three private hospitals, penalty was imposed on four whereas showcause notices were issued to 15,” says Dr Shaweta.