Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan hits back at Arvind Kejriwal over Ayushman Bharat stand-off, fires point-by-point counter

The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, on Saturday fired a point-by-point rebuttle at the reply of Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, which was released on social media asserting that Delhi Government shall not implement Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) in Delhi.

In a letter written to the Chief Minister of Delhi on Saturday, Dr Harsh Vardhan stated that the response shows that the Chief Minister is least interested in the welfare of the people of Delhi.

“All your fancy schemes, including the much-touted Universal Coverage Health Scheme, announced more than a year ago, are still lying on the drawing boards awaiting implementation even after four and a half years. Your Mohalla Clinics are an utter flop and the drastic neglect of patient care in Delhi government hospitals is there for all to see,” wrote the Union Health Minister.

The issue pertaining to the implementation of the health scheme has been a topic of debate between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government and the National Health Authority (NHA).

On June 7, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to tell the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan, that Delhi already has a good health scheme which need not be replaced by the central Government’s scheme and if it is replaced then it will affect the residents of Delhi.

Despite Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan’s plea to the Delhi Chief Minister and Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain to accept and implement the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, they refused to accept it on grounds that it would benefit only 10 lakh of people as against the two crore population of Delhi.

“We will provide a health facility to 100% population here. We won’t pick and choose. That isn’t needed in Delhi. Both the poor and the rich will receive treatment. It’s the responsibility of the Delhi government to provide treatment to all residents of Delhi,” said Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain.

Refuting the statements of the Chief Minister of Delhi further, Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated that while all States can claim to be providing free health care through government hospitals, in reality, citizens still have to spend a lot from their pocket to get the so-called “free treatment”.

“PMJAY targets almost 30 lakh (15% of the total population) persons in Delhi who are most poor and vulnerable. You have also mentioned that the income criterion of Rs. 10,000 per month is less than the minimum wages in Delhi but I want to correct you that this criterion of Rs. 10,000 per month was used on data collected in 2011 and therefore, such families which were earning less than Rs. 10,000 per month in 2011 are eligible under the scheme”

Dr Harsh Vardhan further said that proposed scheme of Delhi Government can be linked with PMJAY for enhanced cover for the poor and vulnerable population of Delhi as they will not only get ready access to private hospitals but will also be able to get benefits across the country.

“Since you are anyway providing OPD cover through your proposed scheme, linking with PM-JAY for in-patient cover will be a boon for the poor and vulnerable population of Delhi as they will not only get ready access to private hospitals but will also be able to get benefits across the country. You can even expand PM-JAY to cover more beneficiaries as has been done by many other States”, he added.

Citing the benefits of this scheme, the Minister added  “Another highlight of PMJAY is that it offers portability and therefore, beneficiaries of this scheme can get benefits across the country, in any of the more than 15,000 impanelled hospitals. Since people often move within the country for various reasons, portability of benefits is very critical. In the proposed State scheme, there is no portability of benefits, so the beneficiary under this scheme is quite vulnerable if he moves out of Delhi,”.

Despite the deadlock, Union Health Minister again extended the invitation to the Chief Minister to work together for the larger good of the people of Delhi and the country.

“Be part of the historical health sector revolution that has been visualised by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji. Ayushman Bharat is the world’s most ambitious and largest free government healthcare program. Let us join hands to celebrate each milestone in the journey towards New India,”  said Dr Harsh Vardhan .