Goa Institute of Management (GIM) recently organized a debate where thought leaders representing Government, Industry and Academia discussed and deliberated on the nuances of the Ayushman Bharat programme.

Ayushman Bharat is the National Health Protection Scheme under the aegis of the Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yogana (PM-JAY) and has been at the center of conversations in healthcare circles since its launch some months ago.

One of the key announcements in the national budget, 2018 of the Government of India was the launch of Ayushman Bharat through which government aims to provide health coverage to over 500 million people, many of who are unable to afford secondary and tertiary care services.

Indu Bhushan, CEO, Ayushman Bharat; Sujatha Rao, Former Union Health Secretary; Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, CEO, Narayana Health; Joy Chakraborty, COO, P.D. Hinduja Hospital; A. Vaidheesh, V.P. South Asia and M.D., GSK; Ashish Kohli, V.P., One Ethicon Surgical Businesses, J&J Medical India; Punit Kohli, M.D., Fresenius Medical Care India Pvt. Ltd and Sakthivel Selveraj, Senior Health Economist, PHFI were part of this event.

Speaking at the event Vishwajit P. Rane, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Goa said, “While Goa is successfully implementing the DDSSY programme, Ayushman Bharat is a revolutionary progaramme in many ways. In addition to the many benefits the programme will also lead to the creation of excellent health infrastructure.”

“Goa will be adding to its healthcare infrastructure under the PMSSY scheme. We are in the process of creating a super specialty hospital at a cost of 480 crores and a cancer specialty centre all under the PMSSY programme. We look towards GIM to offer us researched suggestions, solutions and guidance”, he added.

Explaining the paradoxes that exist in the country’s healthcare landscape, Indu Bhushan, CEO, Ayushman Bharat said, “India has invested in the healthcare sector for the last 70 years yet the needs of 70% of the population is met by the private sector. Similarly, while there have been significant efforts to elevate poverty, close to 6 crore people are driven into poverty each year due to healthcare expenses. While India is one of the fastest growing economy, yet govt spend is low. Ayushman Bharat will address these paradoxes.”

“The ambitious program aims to offer access to affordable healthcare to the people who need it the most while also offering financial protection from high expenses on healthcare. The programme will also generate employment and create healthcare infrastructure including hospitals in tier 2 and tier 3 cities” he explained further.

Dr. Ajit Parulekar, Director Goa Institute of Management said “Ayushman Bharat is a much debated subject within healthcare circles today which has thrown up many questions. What are the planned metrics? How can it instill confidence in the poor? What’s Its impact on pricing and products? All this and more is being debated here today. This conference is aligned to GIM’s bjective of being a management thought-promoter and providing a platform for meaningful discussions in the healthcare domain.”

 The scheme which lays out a grand plan for the population has caught the attention of the general public, industry and healthcare professionals and thought leaders.