“HEALTH ASSURANCE IS NOT A SCHEME. IT IS ABOUT ENSURING THAT EVERY RUPEE SPENT ON HEALTH IS WELL SPENT; THAT EVERY CITIZEN HAS ACCESS TO PROPER HEALTHCARE”

While both planned and unexpected medical expenditure was an additional burden for all under the previous administrations, it was the low-income households that suffered the major brunt. Thanks to programmes such as the flagship AB PM-JAY scheme that ensures universal health coverage to crores of poor families and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission that is revolutionising healthcare in India through digitization of health records via Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHAs), medical needs are met, and unfathomable fears around expenses, mitigated.

The government’s far-sighted approach towards healthcare is not an isolated strategy. Think back to COVID-19; India began implementing grave measures for the containment of the pandemic much earlier than the expected trajectory. Be it “do gaj doori” or mask mandates, or lockdowns, we were so well prepared that in April 2020, India had already set up a vaccine task force. Eventually, by administering over 220 crore vaccine doses, as well as exporting them to the world – Vaccine Maitri – we emerged as an exemplary roadmap for many other countries.

Not just during the pandemic, future-proofing India’s healthcare ecosystem, be it through the government’s bold decision replacing the Medical Council of India with the National Medical Commission thus eliminating corruption, or the setting up of integrated public health labs across districts, or giving an impetus to education in medicine (such as the first ever AIIMS in the Northeast in Assam), over the last nine years, this government has followed an extremely comprehensive and visionary approach.

Of course, this extends to healthcare being made available digitally. Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission (ABDHM) which includes CoWIN and Aarogya Setu is a shining example of the power of tech in healthcare, or healthtech, becoming a viable tool for quality. ABDM facilitates evidence-based decision making for effective health interventions.

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) that makes quality generic medicines available at affordable prices through Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) is another great example of how the ‘complete coverage’ approach informs every health policy. Today, over 9000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras are providing quality generic medicines at affordable prices to citizens. At the Jan Aushadhi Kendras OTC products can be purchased without a prescription and they sell close to 1800 drugs and 280 surgical instruments. The most significant draw though is that the prices of medicines are 50-90% cheaper than similar branded medicines sold elsewhere in the market. The AMRIT pharmacies, similarly, sell more than over 5000 drugs, stents, implants, surgical disposables and other consumables at up to 60% discounts. This covers major diseases such as oncology and cariology.