Almost four months after it launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) providing hospitalisation cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year from poor strata, the Centre has now issued broad guidelines for private investments in setting up of hospitals in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities for smooth functioning of the scheme.
The PMJAY was launched from September 23, 2018, for providing hospitalisation cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year to over 10 crore poor and the deprived families (approx. 50 crore people) in the empanelled hospitals throughout the country.
So far 33 States/UTs have signed MOU for implementing PMJAY out of which 29 have already launched the scheme.
“The objective of the broad guidelines is to improve the supply of healthcare services in the underserved areas to ensure maximum utilisation of the benefits under PMJAY and to improve the demand for quality healthcare services at affordable prices to general public,” said a senior official from the Union Health Ministry.
As per the guidelines, he said that under model I, a doctor owned hospital can have 30 to 50 beds, under model II is doctor manager partnership-multispecialty (100 beds) while under model III, multispecialty hospital can have 100 beds or more.
To incentivise private sector, incentives will be provided during land allotment, various clearances will be facilitated with specific timelines among others.
While private sector will have the responsibility to build, design, finance, manage operate and maintain with quality standards, besides taking market risk and provide services at PMJAY rates, the Government will be entrusted the task of ensuring sufficient unencumbered land on lease or through bidding, facilitate various permissions and clearances through special window with timelines, compulsory empanelment of the hospitals for PMJAY and other Government scheme, ensure timely payments for services.
Also, Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of up to 40 per cent of the total cost of the project , provide gap funding up to 50 per cent of tax on Capital cost, restoration of status of hospital as industry for getting benefit of VGF, etc will be ensured by the Government under the scheme.