In an effort to provide medical facilities to the poor patients, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena on Sunday asked the Arvind Kejriwal-headed Delhi Government to implement Ayushman Bharat Health Scheme, also known as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY,) in the national Capital.
Giving details the officials said the LG flagged intransigence on part of the Delhi Government in clearing the file despite agreeing to do so in 2018 and announcing its implementation in its Budget 2020. He recalled the file invoking Rule 19(5) of Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR) and asked the Chief Minister to implement the scheme at the earliest for the benefit of poorest of the poor.
Saxena underscored that Health Ministers, namely Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia, and Saurabh Bhardwaj, have on six occasions since 2018, stalled the file on flimsy political pretexts.
According to Saxena, the non-implementation of the scheme by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has resulted in the continued suffering of impoverished patients who are unable to avail its benefits, has recalled the file in this regard invoking Rule 19(5) of Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR) and asked the Chief Minister to implement the Scheme at the earliest for the benefit of poorest of the poor.
In a letter dated June 7, 2019, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to then Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, saying the city government is "offering ten times bigger and comprehensive health scheme". Kejriwal had stated replacing the existing scheme with Ayushman Bharat will be a loss for the people of Delhi.
Saxena while disposing the file outlined that the government, despite having given in principle approval for implementation of Ayushman Bharat Scheme way back in 2018 and having announced it even in its budget in 2020, had inexplicably stalled it for merely political reasons. Due to this, depriving lakhs of poor migrants in the city of health services, under AB-PMJAY. He has also outlined the fact that the waiting list for issue of ration card to deserving beneficiaries has applicants waiting since 2018, and in the absence of such document, poor sick patients suffering from serious ailments could not avail of health benefits under other available schemes.
“It is crucial to underscore that AB-PMJAY stands as the world's largest health insurance scheme, offering health coverage of Rs. 5,00,000 per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospital care. This extensive program caters to economically disadvantaged and vulnerable families, benefiting approximately 50 crore individuals. Notably, the scheme is entirely funded by the Government, maintaining a cost-sharing ratio of 60:40 between the Centre and the State,” the Lt Governor said in the file noting.
Presently, States/UTs have successfully implemented AB-PMJAY and over 25 crore Ayushman Cards have been generated under this scheme. Only three States/UTs, including NCT of Delhi, have not implemented this scheme thereby denying citizens residing there, access to better healthcare.
Delhi accommodates a huge migratory population estimated to 72 lakhs as per SECC Data 2011. Additionally, a significant number of building and Other Construction workers lack a Delhi Voter ID rendering them ineligible to avail benefit under the Delhi Arogya Kosh (DAK) scheme.
“It has also been noted that applicants are waiting for issuance of Ration Cards, often required for making them eligible for availing health benefits, since as along as 2018. These patients, who are unable to afford treatment for serious illnesses, are deprived of urgently needed treatment,” Saxena stated in the file noting.
Astonishingly, the then Minister of Health gave in-principle approval to the implementation of AB-PMJAY, with a rider that the same be renamed “Mukhya Mantri Aam Aadmi Swasthya Bima Yojna – Ayushman Bharat”, as early as August 2018. Subsequently, in October 2018, the Minister on the flimsy pretext, that the decision to rename the scheme have been taken by the Cabinet, it will take the Cabinet to re-decide on it, returned the file back.
“Thereafter, the file was put up again to the Minister for a suitable time and date on 01.01.2019, wherein the Minister noted that the same may be put up after his return from tour. However, even as total inaction followed for more than an year, the then Deputy CM/Finance Minister announced in his Budget speech in February 2020, that the scheme will be implemented in Delhi. Thereafter, despite the Budgetary announcement made by his colleague, the Health Minister, when the file was resubmitted to him in March 2020, returned the file without any comments back to the department. When the department resubmitted the file to the Minister in May 2020, after sitting on it for 04 months, he sent the file back to the department with instructions to put it up after 02 months, citing the on-going COVID pandemic. When the file was resubmitted, as per the directions of the Minister mentioned above, in November 2020, he again returned the file back to the department on 04.12.2020, with directions to put it up again in March 2021, without citing any reason thereof,” Saxena said.
