Under Ayushman Bharat, huge disparities among states where Covid patients availed scheme

Has the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana scheme benefitted people during the Covid-19 outbreak, the worst health crisis in a century? The official numbers paint a murky picture.

With a population of more than 11 crore, Bihar saw only 19 people avail treatment for Covid-19 under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, India Today has learnt through an Right to Information (RTI) filing. In Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, the figure stands 875 and 1,419 people respectively, showed data provided by the National Health Authority (NHA) of the government of India in response to the RTI request. The Ayushman Bharat scheme was launched in 2018 to help around 50 crore Indians access good quality and affordable healthcare. Under this scheme, a beneficiary can avail free medical benefits up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year. Has this scheme benefitted people during the Covid-19 outbreak, which is clearly the worst health crisis in a century? The official numbers paint a murky picture. India Today enquired about the number of Covid patients treated in different states under the Ayushman Bharat scheme during the two waves India has faced. In response, the National Health Authority said, “A total of 23.78 lakh (17.73 lakhs testing, and 6.05 lakhs treatments) admissions have been authorized for free testing and treatment under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) up to the first week of June 2021.” The number of people tested is almost three times more than those who were treated under this scheme.