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Southern states are leading the way in authorised hospital admissions under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. Image: Bloomberg
Southern states are leading the way in authorised hospital admissions under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), with four out of the top five performing states coming from the region, according to data on the PMJAY dashboard.
Tamil Nadu tops the list with 9.05 million hospital admissions since the scheme’s inception, followed by Karnataka (6.60 million), Rajasthan (5.74 million), Kerala (5.46 million), and Andhra Pradesh (4.96 million).
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This southern dominance comes despite none of these states being in the top five Ayushman Card creators. Karnataka (17.5 million cards) and Andhra Pradesh (15.6 million cards) are the highest card creators in the south, ranking eighth and tenth on the list.
Telangana, which joined the scheme in 2021, has issued 8.29 million Ayushman Cards, more than list leaders Kerala (7.70 million cards) and Tamil Nadu (7.54 million cards).
TN, Kerala top despite decline in admissions
Tamil Nadu and Kerala continue to top the list of hospital admissions under PMJAY, despite both states witnessing a decline in authorised hospital admissions over the last three financial years, according to data presented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in parliament.
Data accessed by Business Standard shows that authorised hospital admissions in Tamil Nadu hospitals decreased from 4.39 million in FY22 to 1.05 million in FY24.
Similarly, PMJAY admissions in Kerala dropped from 1.69 million in FY22 to 1.07 million in FY24.
Authorised hospital admissions have increased in Andhra Pradesh (from 1.13 million in FY22 to 1.84 million in FY24), Karnataka (from 1.08 million in FY22 to 3.21 million in FY24), and Telangana (from 323,421 in FY22 to 618,497 in FY24).
Queries sent to the health departments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala regarding the decline in admissions under PMJAY did not elicit responses before the time of going to print.
High card creators see low admission numbers
Uttar Pradesh, with 51 million Ayushman Cards, has recorded only 2.8 million admissions under the scheme, according to the PMJAY dashboard.
Similarly, other high card-creating states like Madhya Pradesh (40.2 million cards) and Bihar (35.6 million cards) have recorded only 3.35 million and 778,000 hospital admissions, respectively.
Bihar restarted the scheme under a new name in March 2024 after a three-year hiatus, but no information is available regarding the lower admission numbers in other states.
According to data available on the National Health Authority (NHA) dashboard, the scheme has so far covered over 356 million citizens, who have received Ayushman Cards to avail free health insurance of Rs 5 lakh for hospitalisation.
The PMJAY is the world’s largest publicly funded health assurance scheme, aiming to provide health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to around 550 million (55 crore) individuals, covering 123.4 million families.
Whether households are covered depends on the deprivation and occupational criteria of the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011) for rural and urban areas, respectively.
The scheme was later expanded to cover Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), Anganwadi workers, and all citizens aged 70 years and above.
First Published: Oct 13 2024 | 10:18 AM IST
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