Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the world's largest health insurance scheme, promising free coverage for half a billion of India's poorest citizens (AFP Photo/PRAKASH SINGH) |
New Delhi
(AFP) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched the world's biggest
health insurance scheme, promising free coverage for half a billion of India's
poorest citizens ahead of national elections next year.
The bottom
40 percent of India's 1.25 billion people will be covered under the flagship
program, dubbed "Modicare", unveiled in the federal budget earlier
this year.
The 100
million lowest-income families will be provided 500,000 rupees ($6,900) -- a
sizeable sum in India -- in annual health insurance to treat serious ailments.
Modi handed
medical cards out at the launch in Ranchi, capital of the eastern state of
Jharkhand, calling it a historic day for India.
"We
want to strengthen the hands of the poor and stand shoulder to shoulder with
them in pursuit of good health," he posted on Twitter.
The scheme
is expected to cost the central and 29 state governments $1.6 billion per year
in total. Funding will be increased gradually according to demand.
India's
overburdened public health system is plagued by a shortage of facilities and
doctors and most people use private clinics and hospitals if they can afford
to.
But a
private consultation can cost 1,000 rupees ($15), a huge sum for millions
living on less than $2 a day.
More than
60 percent of the average family's spending goes on medicines and healthcare,
the government estimates.
Many of the
poorest just go without care.
A report
published this month by The Lancet medical journal found substandard healthcare
was responsible for an estimated 1.6 million deaths a year in India -- the
highest anywhere in the world.
"A
scam"
Critics
have questioned how the government plans to fund such an enormous safety net,
and suggested it was little more than a sop ahead of elections next May.
Modi will
be seeking a second term on a platform of pro-poor policies and
"Modicare" is a key plank of his pitch to low-income Indians.
"This
is going to be another scam. It will benefit only private insurance companies.
The citizen of the country will realise later that it is nothing but an
election gimmick," said Sanjay Nirupam from India's main opposition
Congress Party.
But K. K.
Aggarwal, a cardiologist and former president of the Indian Medical
Association, said "politicking over the scheme should stop".
"It
has been launched, and it is going to be a game changer," he told AFP.
Some
healthcare providers have raised concerns about being left out of pocket,
fearing the government has underestimated the cost of certain treatments.
Prathap
Reddy, chairman of private hospital chain Apollo Hospitals, said the private
sector was "rightly worried" about pricing and reimbursements.
"While
we all work together to ensure the success of this scheme, there are areas that
need focus and fine tuning," he said.
Others say
it should have included primary day-to-day healthcare instead of just secondary
and tertiary care for more serious and long term treatment.
"Modicare
does not extend to primary healthcare, which, we believe, is the weakest link
in the provision of public health in India," Rajiv Lall and Vivek Dehejia
of the IDFC Institute think-tank said in a column for the Mint newspaper.
No comments:
Post a Comment