HEALTH CHECK ON MODICARE

Just about two months into the government’s far-reaching Ayushman Bharat scheme, dubbed the world’s largest public health programme, statistics for secondary and tertiary care show that a majority of patients have been treated in private facilities. The private sector seemed unhappy with the pricing of insurance packages, which had implications for the number of hospitals that might get ‘empanelled’ to offer treatment under the scheme. India’s expenditure on healthcare, as a proportion of GDP, is minuscule, compared with not just developed economies but also some of the world’s poorest. Questions remain on whether outof-pocket expenses will be significantly impacted and whether enough room has been made in the tight budget to cope with an explosion of demand.

232,592

Beneficiaries hospitalised in first 54 days of Ayushman Bharat since its launch on Sep 25, for treatments of Rs 344.8 crore

68%

Beneficiaries were treated in private hospitals; Gujarat topped the list of beneficiaries admitted

42%

Of beneficiaries were women, obstetrics and gynaecology were among the top 5 treatments

603,050

Scheme e-cards generated since its rollout; some 107 million families (500 million individuals) are expected to be covered by the scheme

3

States and Union territories, including Delhi, have yet to opt into the scheme

55,482

Hospitals have applied to be empanelled, of which 15,000 (8,000 private) are already empanelled or approved

52 million

Indians pushed into poverty in 2017 by out-of-pocket (OOP) medical expenses, estimates the WHO

70%

Estimated OOP medical expenses in India are on medicine for out-patient care, not covered by Ayushman Bharat