Six months after high-profile rollout, Ayushman Bharat struggles to gain ground in Delhi: Report
New Delhi: Six months after its much-publicised launch in the national capital, the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme is struggling to make an impact.
Despite issuing nearly 5 lakh health cards, only a small percentage of beneficiaries in Delhi have accessed treatment under the scheme. Major private hospitals continue to stay away, citing financial non-viability as a key concern, as reported by The New Indian Express on Monday.
Launched on April 10, the scheme had promised to extend health coverage to Delhi’s poor and vulnerable sections. Senior citizens were among the first to receive Ayushman cards, with the initiative hailed as a significant move toward inclusive healthcare. However, six months on, the ground reality tells a different story.
According to official data cited by TNIE, 4,99,230 cards have been issued so far, but only 9,254 patients have received treatment. Out of over 1,200 private hospitals in Delhi, just 166 have enrolled under the scheme. Officials admit that the lack of participation from large corporate hospitals has significantly limited the scheme’s reach.
“One of the biggest roadblocks has been the reluctance of big hospitals to join. The absence of top-tier facilities has hampered outreach, leaving a large section of poor and vulnerable populations waiting for care,” TNIE quoted an official from the State Health Agency overseeing the programme as saying.
Healthcare experts point to structural and financial shortcomings as reasons for the scheme's slow progress. Many hospitals have raised concerns about unviable treatment package rates and delayed reimbursements.
The Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI), representing numerous private hospitals, has urged the government to revise the scheme’s terms. Among its demands is a clause mandating 1% interest on payments delayed beyond 30 days, to promote timely reimbursement and accountability.
Additionally, officials admit that the scheme's limited disease coverage is another hurdle, added the report. Currently, only 136 medical conditions are covered under Ayushman Bharat—far fewer than the number of conditions commonly treated in hospitals.
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Will continue to keep tab on development work in Bihar: Nitish to JD(U) MLAs
Patna (PTI): JD(U) president Nitish Kumar on Monday told party legislators that he will continue to keep a tab on the development work in Bihar despite having given up the chief minister's post a week ago.
Kumar addressed a meeting of the legislative party at 1, Anney Marg, which is the official residence of the chief minister and which the JD(U) supremo, now a Rajya Sabha MP, had occupied for nearly two decades.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, "Our party leader has said that except for sessions of Parliament, which would require his presence in Delhi, he will spend his maximum time in Bihar."
"Nitish Kumar told us that he will ensure that the good work done while he was in power continues under the new government, in which the JD(U) is an important partner. To keep a tab, he will tour the state in due course," Neeraj Kumar said.
The JD(U) spokesperson was asked about speculations that the meeting had been convened to decide on the role to be assigned to Nishant, the party supremo's son, who joined the JD(U) last month, but has declined to accept a ministerial berth in the Samrat Choudhary government.
"There is no confusion about the role of Nishant, who has been accepted by the party as the leader of the future. In any case, there was no discussion on him today," Neeraj Kumar said.
Nitish Kumar has been authorised by the legislators to decide on choosing the legislative party leader, he added.
Among those present at the meeting were Union minister and former JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' and Deputy Chief Ministers Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav.
Interestingly, don turned politician Anant Kumar Singh, who represents Mokama assembly seat, claimed after the meeting that MLAs were asked by the supreme leader to try and win "200 seats in the next elections".
"Nitish Kumar ji told us that he will now be more easily available for party workers and general public. He also said that he will extensively tour the state and asked us to work hard so that the party wins 200 seats in the next elections", said Singh, who is often in news for putting his foot in the mouth.
The Bihar assembly is 243-strong and the JD(U)'s current tally is 85, four less than ally BJP, which is the single largest party.
The JD(U)'s best-ever performance was in 2010, when it had contested 142 seats and won 115 of these. It was also the highest tally for any single party since Bihar's truncation in 2000, until when Jharkhand was part of the state and assembly had 324 seats.
