Public Economics: Ayushman Bharat Yojana Evaluation

Study Notes

Introduction to Ayushman Bharat Yojana

Launched in 2018 as part of the National Health Policy aimed at achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Two main components: Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) for basic care and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) for tertiary care.
Designed to alleviate healthcare costs for lower-income individuals, aiming to provide insurance coverage for over 500 million people.
Offers up to ₹5 lakh in annual insurance coverage per family.

Key Objectives of Ayushman Bharat Yojana

Universal Health Coverage: Targets economic disadvantaged, covering around 50 crore individuals to ensure access to essential medical services.
Financial Protection: Provides health insurance of ₹5 lakh per family annually for hospitalization, mitigating out-of-pocket expenses and safeguarding family savings.
Cashless Treatment: Enables beneficiaries to receive treatment without upfront payments at various public and private hospitals.
Extensive Medical Care: Covers more than 1,500 medical packages, including hospitalization and surgeries, ensuring a wide range of healthcare access.
Strengthening Primary Healthcare: Plans to establish 1,50,000 Health and Wellness Centres across India, focusing on disease prevention and chronic care management.

Additional Objectives

Empowering Women's Health: Directly addresses women's health issues, ensuring maternity care and cancer screenings, promoting gender equity in health access.
Reducing Health Disparities: Works to bridge the healthcare access gap between urban and rural areas, targeting underserved communities for equitable service delivery.
Employment Generation: Increases demand for healthcare services, which fosters job creation in the sector and contributes to economic growth.
Technology-Driven Beneficiary Identification: Utilizes Aadhaar cards for identifying and enrolling beneficiaries, enhancing registration efficiency.
Comprehensive Approach to Healthcare: Integrates services across preventive, promotional, curative, palliative, and rehabilitative care at various healthcare levels.

Efficiency Evaluation of Ayushman Bharat Yojana

As of September 2024, over 35.4 crore Ayushman cards issued in 33 states and union territories, benefitting approximately 12 crore families, indicating robust progress towards UHC.
The scheme is recognized as a transformative step towards enhancing healthcare access and affordability in India, particularly for vulnerable populations.

Description

This assignment focuses on the evaluation of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which aims to advance Universal Health Coverage in India. It discusses the scheme's efficiency in delivering health services and its impact on public health policy since its launch in 2017.