Hyderabad: The Ayushman Bharat scheme will not be implemented in Telangana state as the government finds that there is wider health coverage under Aarogyasri scheme where 70 per cent of the population is covered whereas in AB there will be only 80 lakh people who will be covered. The below the poverty line bar in Aarogyasri scheme was very high due to which more than 1.5 crore people are covered.
The below the poverty line bar which has been set in Ayushman Bharat will cover only 80 lakh people and the remaining will have to continue with Aarogyasri which will be very difficult for the state to handle explained sources.
Dr Narsinga Reddy, president of Telagana Indian Medical Association explained, “The government has decided not to take up Ayushman Bharat and continue only with Aarogyasri scheme in the state. The beneficiaries of Aarogyasri are more and they do not want to tilt the balance.”
The central government had agreed to give Rs 240 crore in AB scheme but the spending in Aarogyasri since its inception in 2014 till date has been 3179.81 crore. The pre-authorisation for surgeries and treatment under Aarogyasri per day is between Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crores per day.
A senior officer explained, “Another major hitch seen by the government was that the AB scheme would have the photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the card which was not acceptable to the state government. The Aarogyasri scheme presently does not have the picture of the ruling party chief minister. Hence it was found that it would lead to unwanted publicity during the election year which is not required in the state of TS.”
