The Narendra Modi Government is likely to launch its ambitious Universal Health Assurance Mission (UHAM) by December this year as the Union Health Ministry has prepared a detailed blueprint which envisages to bring all Indians under health insurance cover as well as ensuring a few essential services at the rural health centres.
A senior official from the Ministry said that the first phase of the mission will be rolled out soon. States are being consulted in the matter.
Under the scheme, the poor will get treatment free of cost, as the Government expects premium to be low for the rest of the population due to the country’s predominantly young population.
The highlights of the proposed UHAM are that 50 essential drugs with a package of diagnostics and about 30 AYUSH drugs will be made available to all citizens at Government hospitals and health centres across the country.
A package of preventive and positive health information will be made available to all citizens and health insurance will be a built-in feature of the UHAM.
UHAM was a key poll promise of the BJP and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had set up an Expert Group headed by medical expert Ranjit Roy Chaudhury to prepare a roadmap to implement it for the entire population.
The panel has already submitted its report to the Ministry.
At present, health insurance covers about 25 per cent of the population and the UHAM is expected to give a big boost to the health sector.
In the absence of any public health insurance scheme, the out of pocket personal expenditure on health care in India is over 75 per cent of total expenses compared to less than 15 per cent in countries like the USA and the UK.
Under the Mission, the Ministry has also tried to identify areas where it can ensure that people will get guaranteed health facilities such as diagnosis of illness and maternal delivery without any problems and they do not have to return from the health care centres without getting basic treatments.