Govt in A Fix As Big Hospitals Deem Ayushman Bharat Non-Viable

The Modi Government’s pilot project Ayushman Bharat or Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), kick-started in September 2018, is facing a major setback due to low rates. As a result, multi-speciality and big private hospitals are unwilling to join hands with the government under the scheme.

The Quint has learnt that Dinesh Arora, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Authority has issued a notification on 30 May to constitute a committee under the Ayushman Bharat scheme to review “appropriate package costing”, “anomalies” as recommended by specialist committees. The ten-member committee is headed by Arora.

But why now? The Ayushman Bharat authorities did not give us a clear answer on ‘why’ but experts say, the trigger was when the Health Ministry found that most private hospitals refused to be a part of the scheme due to low rates. For eg: Ayushman Bharat yojana pays Rs 20,000 for the surgery of removal of chest wall tumour , whereas states are paying double the rate – Rs 40,000 – for the same surgery.