Topic Of The Day:- “Long Road Ahead: On Ayushman Bharat Scheme”
Budgetary Support Must Be Strengthened To Make Ayushman Bharat A Success
Ayushman Bharat has been rolled out as a health protection scheme that will provide guaranteed access to treatment that is free at the point of delivery to about 40% of the population selected on the basis of censused socio-economic indicators. It is the essential first step on the road to universal health coverage, although it has been launched by the NDA government quite late in its term, possibly with an eye on the 2019 general election. Since the Centre has announced that 10.74 crore families identified through Socio-Economic Caste Census data will be given an annual ₹5 lakh cover under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (the insurance component of the scheme), the question of eligibility appears settled. But the late start makes it virtually impossible for all those who are technically insured to avail of the services that state agencies must make available, within a reasonable time-frame. And, the allocation of just ₹2,000 crore during the current year to the PMJAY cannot provide the promised cover to the large population sought to be included. Not all States and Union Territories are in a position to raise their own share, and a few have not even joined the scheme. The challenge of funding, therefore, remains. And without adequate budgetary commitments, the implications of pooling the financial risk for such a large segment of the population through insurers or state-run trusts or societies make the outcomes uncertain.
Guaranteeing health-care access using private or public facilities presumes tight cost control. In the case of the PMJAY, this is to be achieved using defined treatment packages for which rates are prescribed. Costs are a contested area between the care-providers and the Centre, and many for-profit hospitals see the government’s proposals as unviable. In the absence of adequate preparation, the Ayushman Bharat administration is talking of a rate review. More importantly, a lot of time has been lost in the NDA government’s tenure, when State governments should have been persuaded to regulate the hospital sector under the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, which dates back to 2010. The law broadly provides for standardisation of facilities and reasonable rates for procedures. Apprehensions of fraud have prompted Ayushman Bharat administrators to announce that some key treatments should be availed through public sector institutions. But public facilities have been neglected for long. Going forward, there are some clear imperatives. It is essential to reduce the pressure on secondary and tertiary hospitals for expensive treatments by investing in preventive and primary care facilities. Here, the 150,000 health and wellness centres of the National Health Protection Mission can play a valuable role. The first-order priority should be to draw up a road map for universal health coverage, through continuous upgradation of the public sector infrastructure.
MEANING AND WORDS
1) sought
Meaning : attempt to find (something).
Synonyms : desired , hunted
Antonyms : unwanted
Example : “they came here to seek shelter from biting winter winds”
2) implications
Meaning : the conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated.
Synonyms : conclusion , indication
Antonyms : measurement
Example : “the implication is that no one person at the bank is responsible”
3) presumes
Meaning : suppose that something is the case on the basis of probability.
Tamil Meaning : ஊகித்துக்கொள்ளலாம்
Synonyms : supposes , assumes
Antonyms : appreciates
Example : “I presumed that the man had been escorted from the building”
4) contested
Meaning : engage in competition to attain (a position of power).
Synonyms : disputed , combated
Antonyms : opted
Example : “she declared her intention to contest the presidency”
5) persuaded
Meaning : induce (someone) to do something through reasoning or argument.
Synonyms : convinced , coaxed
Antonyms : doubtful
Example : “it wasn’t easy, but I persuaded him to do the right thing”
6) prompted
Meaning : (of an event or fact) cause or bring about (an action or feeling).
Synonyms : motivated incited
Antonyms : arrested
Example : “the violence prompted a wave of refugees to flee the country”
7) imperatives
Meaning : an essential or urgent thing.
Synonyms : compulsory , critical
Antonyms : inessential
Example : “free movement of labour was an economic imperative”
