IMA rejects Ayushman Scheme package rates

In an emergency meeting, IMA raised concerns over various aspects of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and seems to vindicate the stand of the scheme’s many critics, including Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik.

In an astounding disclosure affecting healthcare all over the country, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) revealed in a circular that the IMA has rejected the package rates proposed in the Ayushman Bharat Yojana of the Central Govt. An emergency meeting of the IMA Action Committee was held in New Delhi on 24th June, 2018 discussing the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

In the meeting the IMA expressed its concern over potential danger to patients and rejected the package rates proposed by the Government. The circular states that the proposed rates “will compromise quality and breed corruption… and have deleterious effect on patient safety.”

The IMA also objected to the “insurance model” of implementation of the Scheme and demanded an exclusive “trust model” The exposure to insurance companies or other middle men is seen to be a regressive idea by many experts as it leads to an unnecessary cost where patients’ money ends up in the pockets of third parties. Stating that these middle men would profit “crores of rupees” and lead to a “collapse of the present health delivery system”, the IMA has declared that it is willing to partner the Central Government in the Ayushman Bharat Yojana provided “package rates are revised to a reasonable level”.

Recently, the Central Government’s Ayushman Bharat Yojana had also been detracted by the Odisha State Government on these lines. The State is instead preferring its own model of healthcare, “Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana” (BSKY), which follows a Trust Model and is also seen to be more inclusive than the Centre’s Scheme.

On the basis of the observations of the Indian Medical Association, the Odisha Government’s stand seems vindicated and the BSKY sets an example for the Centre to emulate.