A total of 2.22 crore families in Maharashtra are eligible for benefits under Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) and Ayushman Bharat – Pradhn Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). The 14- digit Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) number will be a game changer for getting access to affordable and faster healthcare facility for citizens, N Nawin Sona, IAS, Secretary, Public Health Department, Government of Maharashtra, said today while speaking at the fifth edition of the CII Hospital Tech Conclave 2022- “Future of Healthcare- A Road Ahead.”
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of providing affordable and quality healthcare facilities to the most remote corner of the country has got a lot of boost with the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and the Digital Health Mission. In addition, he mentioned that the major aspect of the central government’s healthcare scheme would be on preventive healthcare with most primary healthcare centres being converted into preventive healthcare centres.
Sona mentioned that there are almost 1,000 hospitals in the state that cater to around 2.2 crore beneficiaries in Maharashtra.
“Under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, there are around 83 lakh people who are covered for all ailments with an insurance cover of Rs 1.5 lakhs per person per year. Other than that, there is a central scheme, Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) which gives health coverage up to Rs 5 lakhs,” he said. The government is also working on a roadmap to increase the number of hospitals to benefit more people.
Sona also explained that these schemes are reviewed on a weekly basis by PM Narendra Modi.
“The central government is giving a lot of emphasis on public healthcare to prevent a loss to the economy due to loss of productivity of its workforce,” he added.
He informed that the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) will help people living even on the most remote corner get a faster and affordable healthcare facility.
“Due to the 14-digit account number, a lot of patient data would be generated and saved. With this data records saved on cloud, he can get access to faster healthcare as a lot of time would be saved,” he said.
Joy Chakraborty, Chairman, CII, WR Sub Committee on Healthcare, and COO, P D Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre explained that the Indian healthcare sector was one of the largest employers and creates around 500,000 new jobs every year.
“The Heal India initiative which focusses on quality healthcare and low-cost services are some of the factors which have given rise to medical tourism in the country,” he said.
Chakraborty stated that since the year 2016, the Indian healthcare sector has been growing at the rate of 22 per cent CAGR and is going to touch $372 billion by the end of 2022.
Sunil Chordia, Chairman, CII Western Region, informed that the government has been focussing on creating the healthcare infrastructure in the country. “Even in the 2022 union budget, around Rs 8,600 crore were allotted to this sector,” he informed.
According to S Sridhar, Country President, Pfizer India, the Indian government is working with a single agenda of providing quality healthcare for all with a focus not only on the cure, but also on prevention.
Vish Padmanabhan, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, (India & Middle East) Investment, New South Wales, stated that the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between Indian and other countries will help in making healthcare services more affordable.
Alan Gemmell, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for South Asia and British Deputy High Commissioner for Western India explained that the UK and India would be doubling their trade partnership by the year 2030. “The last time the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson came to India, there was an increase of 2 billion pounds of trade and 18,000 new jobs were created,” he pointed out.
Bart De Jong, Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mumbai, stated that though India and Netherlands complete 75 years of diplomatic relations, the journey goes beyond four decades. “There is significant opportunity in the field of medical devices which both countries can explore,” he said.
Sagi Itcher, Head, Economic and Trade Mission, Consulate General of Israel, Mumbai, informed that the public healthcare system in Israel offers free healthcare facilities to its residents. “Significant partnerships and collaborations have taken place between both India and Israel which has accelerated post the pandemic,” he added.