BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy speaks to The Indian Express on the implementation of Ayushman Bharat. What issue did you raise? The issue is related to Ayushman Bharat that was answered through a starred question. It is a fantastic scheme that covers 50 crore people for which over Rs 50,000 crore has been earmarked. However, Bihar, which has a population of 14 crore, is very poorly covered under this. It could have been meaningfully used. What is the issue with the scheme? Apart from Ayushman Yojana, there is also availability of provisions by state and central level usually from the CM or PM fund. To avail those, once the patient is admitted, the hospital gives an estimate. If the estimated amount is sanctioned and sent to the hospital, by the time funds are released, an additional amount is generated. The patient, who is not in a position to pay the additional amount as the sanctioned amount has already been utilised, faces this issue and there is no process of verification. What kind of complaints have you been receiving? I know of cases wherein estimates have been approved, money has been sent to hospital but when the patient has to be discharged, there is an extra burden imposed, which cannot be covered under any scheme. As a result, the scheme becomes a fallacy due to the administrative mismanagement of these private hospitals. What is the solution? A mechanism has to be drawn where a certificate should be good enough for the hospital to cover the expenses which can be reimbursed later after the full treatment is done. Do states have a role? A foolproof mechanism has to be devised as a major role has to be played by the states in implementing the scheme.
