On The Ground: Ayushman Bharat Is Helping The Patients In Haryana, But What About The Doctors?

What's Sabotaging The Ayushman Bharat Scheme In Haryana?

Dear Reader,

My colleague Ankit is on the ground in poll-bound Haryana. While talking to the people in the state, he's come across a peculiar situation regarding one of the most successful flagship programmes of the Modi government - Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).

Ayushman Bharat has shown impressive results by significantly reducing the out-of-pocket expenditure on health for more than 35 crore Indians. Health spending would often bring a family's finances to the brink of collapse but this 5-lakh insurance scheme changed this.

But there are cracks in Haryana, as Ankit says in his detailed ground report titled 'Ayushman Bharat Lifeline For Patients, But Doctors Say Unpaid Bills Are Crippling Hospitals'.

The Problem: When Haryana launched its own 'Chirayu Haryana Yojana', the healthcare coverage expanded to nearly half of the state's population.

• This has caused financial strain on private hospitals and doctors are struggling to keep their facilities afloat due to delayed payments from the government.

So from being a helping hand to the needy, it has come to seem like a freebie which is only hurting the actual beneficiaries, the state finances, and the doctors.

Ankit cites the example of Meera, a patient in Hisar, who received free treatment worth Rs 17,000 under the PMJAY. But with unpaid claims mounting, doctors are feeling the pinch, risking the program’s future.

Doctors warn that political motivations behind Chirayu scheme could backfire, leaving those truly in need with fewer options.

Read the full story here to understand the issue in detail.

Until tomorrow,

Anmol N Jain