Hyderabad: The Telangana government will implement the Rs 5 lakh health insurance for those above 70 years of age, that was announced by the Centre recently under its Ayushman Bharat (AB) scheme.
Karthik Reddy, deputy director of Aarogyasri Healthcare Trust, told Deccan Chronicle that since Telangana had converged its Aarogyasri scheme with Ayushman Bharat, the benefit will be extended to senior citizens.
Reddy said that the National Health Authority (NHA) was expected to issue guidelines for the scheme. The Centre and the state would share the cost of the scheme in a 60:40 ratio.
"Telangana already covers 80 per cent of its population irrespective of age limit under its merged health scheme, which includes 90 lakh families, coming to about 2.84 crore individuals. All BPL families have health cards based on their food security profile,” he said.
The NHA will soon open up the portal where the senior citizens can register themselves.
He clarified that the existing Aarogyasri cards will remain valid for senior citizens under the new scheme. "With exhaustive coverage already in place, we anticipate only a limited increase in the number of new beneficiaries due to existing provisions for most residents," Reddy said.
Experts in the healthcare sector welcomed the scheme but highlighted potential issues. Prof. Sarang Deo, executive director of Max Institute of Healthcare Management, Indian School of Business (ISB) said, "Coverage alone does not ensure utilisation. Elderly individuals may face difficulties accessing healthcare, even in empanelled hospitals. Investment in primary care and chronic disease management is essential to contain healthcare costs."
Dr B.V. Rao, ex-president of IMA, advocated for universal healthcare. “This scheme will benefit private hospitals through increased admissions. The government should go for universal health insurance with minimum premiums based on the income profiles of citizens,” he suggested.
The private insurance sector can support the government, Dr Rao said. It's crucial to cover the entire population under health insurance, keeping in mind health emergencies such as Covid. “High private healthcare costs have pushed over seven lakh people below the poverty line in the last decade," Rao said.
Amit Chhabra, CBO, policybazaar.com, said that it will bring positive developments in the sector as more people would become aware of their health and opt for insurance covers. "Over the years, the health insurance demand has grown, especially in states where government health insurance schemes exist and work complementarity with private insurance schemes. This is because more people become aware of the importance of a health cover," he said.
