Opposition members flag Ayushman Bharat scheme's shortcomings in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: The Opposition parties flagged various shortcomings in the Central government's flagship Ayushman Bharat scheme, including issues related to identification of beneficiaries and availing health coverage for hospitalisation.

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) is a flagship scheme of the government that provides health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to approximately 55 crore beneficiaries corresponding to 12.37 crore families, constituting economically vulnerable bottom 40 per cent of India's population.

Participating in a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the working of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Sandeep Kumar Pathak of the Aam Aadmi Party claimed that there is a "design fault" in the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

He said the problem starts with beneficiary identification with lakhs of fraudulent names in the list, along with hospital empanelment issues, and claimed that the health insurance coverage under the scheme has been designed keeping in mind the interest of hospitals instead of patients.

Sulata Deo of the Biju Janata Dal alleged that a kind of Ayushman Bharat "scam" took place in a hospital and claimed that false reports are issued related to health camps organised in villages to hide malpractices.

Members from the Treasury benches contested Deo's claims related to the Ayushman Bharat "scam" and asked her to authenticate them as she had named a particular hospital.

Niranjan Reddy, who was in the Chair, told BJD's Sulata Deo that the issue would be examined and asked her to furnish proof of all information related to the claims.

Sukhendu Sekhar Ray of the Trinamool Congress claimed that under the National Health Mission, no funds have been released by the central government to the state since August 2023 despite fulfilment of all conditionalities.

"I have never witnessed such an inimical attitude on the part of the Central government towards the poor people of Bengal," he said, claiming that next year, the people of the state will give a befitting reply to the central government in an apparent reference to the West Bengal Assembly Elections due in 2026.