New Delhi: The Parliamentary Committee on Health and Family Welfare has recommended incorporating the cost of medicines under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, particularly for high-cost diseases like cancer, to ensure broader coverage across states.
The 159th report of the committee on the action taken by the government on recommendations and observations in the 151st report on the implementation of Ayushman Bharat was tabled in Lok Sabha Tuesday.
Out of the 45 recommendations made by the parliamentary committee in the 151st report, the government has accepted 25. The committee has been deterred by the government’s response from pursuing 11 recommendations. For the other nine, the committee disagreed with the government’s replies and issued additional suggestions.
The 151st report of the department-related parliamentary standing committee on health and family welfare was tabled on 19 December, 2023. The “Action Taken Notes” from the government on the report’s recommendations were received in August 2024.
The government, in response to the committee’s recommendation to include the cost of medicines under Ayushman Bharat, clarified that the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) already covers inpatient treatment expenses, including pre-hospitalisation costs for up to three days and post-hospitalisation expenses, including medicines, for up to 15 days. Additionally, certain medicines were provided through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
PM-JAY is the world’s largest government-funded health insurance and assurance scheme. It offers financial coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisations in both public and private empanelled hospitals across India.
However, the committee reiterated its recommendation to extend coverage for the cost of medicines, particularly for diseases requiring long-term treatment, such as cancer. Recognising this would be a special provision, the committee highlighted the ministry’s own submission, which stated that within the Rs 5 lakh coverage limit, 99.4 percent of treatment cycles typically incur expenses below Rs 2 lakh.
“The Committee wants the health ministry to explore the window provided by this difference to incorporate the component of covering the cost of medicines, particularly in cases of diseases like cancer, etc,” the report said.
The committee, chaired by Professor Ram Gopal Yadav, a Rajya Sabha member from the Samajwadi Party, comprises 36 members from both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, and has the support of the secretariat.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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