A recent meeting at the Pune District Collector's office, led by Omprakash Shete, Chief of the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Mission for Maharashtra, discussed the achievements and challenges of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana.
The meeting on Saturday covered the achievements of these schemes, issues faced by various hospitals, and problems encountered by patients. An assessment was made of hospitals providing adequate responses as well as those providing insufficient responses. The reasons for the low performance of some hospitals were analysed.
While addressing the attendees, Shete said, “Special efforts are needed to increase the registration of ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) cards in the areas of both municipal corporations of Pune division so that the benefits of the Ayushman Bharat-Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana reach the needy. Citizens should also come forward to get their cards, keeping in mind the benefits of this scheme.”
“Out of the 6.361 million eligible beneficiaries in Pune district, ABHA cards have been issued to 1.31 million beneficiaries. To increase this number, camps should be organised at all ration supply centers, common service centers (CSCs), Apna Seva Kendras, Sangram Kendras, and other places. The Ayushman Bharat app also provides this facility, and information about it should be given to the citizens,” Shete added.
Integrated Ayushman Bharat-Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana
He further mentioned that the state's earlier Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana and the central government's Ayushman Bharat scheme, launched in 2018, have been integrated. According to the government decision of July 28, 2023, it has been decided to implement the ‘Integrated Ayushman Bharat-Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana’ for all families in the state, which will be implemented with extended coverage from July 1, 2024. This is a major cashless scheme in India, offering treatments up to ₹500,000 without any cash transactions.
“In response to hospitals' demands to increase the package rates for patient treatment, which were set too low, there has been an average increase of over 20% in these rates from July 1. Hospitals should provide the benefits of this scheme to patients since payments for treatments are settled on time. Cashless counters should be established, and hospitals with lower performance will be given some time to improve. However, if their performance does not improve, they will be removed from the scheme's panel,” Shete added.
“Citizens desire treatment at renowned major hospitals in the city, but this is not possible due to financial constraints. Therefore, the administration should follow up to include such hospitals in the scheme’s panel. As a public representative, support will be provided for this purpose,” said MP Medha Kulkarni.
District Collector Dr Divase said, “The process of issuing Ayushman Bharat cards to all family members in the district needs to be accelerated. For this, a meeting will soon be held with representatives of the supply department and CSC centers to review the progress. Under the Late Balasaheb Thackeray Road Accident Insurance Scheme, any citizen injured in a road accident will receive immediate cashless treatment up to ₹100,000. This benefit will be extended to citizens from Maharashtra as well as those from other parts of the country and abroad.”
Instructions were given to include all hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana and to maximise their implementation across all hospitals.
The meeting was organised under the presence of MP Medha Kulkarni and District Collector Dr. Suhas Divase, regarding the effective implementation of the Ayushman Bharat-Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana. Also present at the meeting were District Surgeon Dr. Nagnath Yempalle, Assistant Commissioner Inspector P.M. Andhale from the Charity Commissioner Office, and others.
