The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has demanded ‘One Nation, One Health Insurance Policy’ in the country, charging that the Union government's much-hyped-ambitious Ayushman Bharat Yojana seemed to be a publicity stunt to gain popularity.
RLD spokesman Anupam Mishra said, “The scheme was implemented to provide medical facilities to the financially challenged people but it could not catch its expected momentum in the last three years. Undoubtedly the Ayushman scheme is a big policy step, but at the time of the coronavirus pandemic, all its discrepancies were seen on the ground. About 20 lakh samples were tested under Ayushman Yojana, out of which only 7.08 lakh poor families were admitted in hospitals while the total number of infected patients was more than 3.5 crore and the death-toll was more than 4.5 lakh. This shows that only 2 per cent of coronavirus victims got the benefit of Ayushman Yojana. Is it not surprising that when about 23,000 hospitals were connected to Ayushman Bharat Yojana, then why did coronavirus patients not get proper treatment? The basic problem is the lack of uniformity in the policies of the government.``
Describing Indian health insurance as one in dire straits, the RLD leader said that the only solution was ‘One Nation, One Health Insurance Policy’.“Today, the government should be responsible for providing health insurance to every citizen. When countries like America, England and Brazil can implement this, then why is it not possible in our country? Ayushman scheme provides a package of treatment for 918 diseases but there is no provision for diseases like dengue, chikungunya and Japanese encephalitis. Moreover, for serious diseases like cancer, the common man has to get cancer top-up in his health policy, while all diseases should be covered under it,” Mishra said.
“There are 572 medical colleges in India but private medical colleges do not treat Ayushman card holders. There is a need to take strict steps on this and the government should make a ‘One Nation One Health Insurance Policy’ covering all diseases under it and should do away with the provisions of OPD and admission and make the treatment of all diseases a part of it according to the concept of universal insurance. Also, the rates of treatment should be made practical and uniform,” Mishra opined.