DNA Edit: Medicare sans politics

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s opposition to the Centre’s inclusive healthcare programme, commonly called ModiCare, is steeped in arrogance. By opting out of the plan, she has made lives difficult for the people of her state. Unlike Kerala, her state has been inconsistent in offering quality medical treatment. If Niti Aayog’s recently published health index report, ‘Healthy States, Progressive India ‘, is anything to go by, Bengal’s performance in 2016 has been worse than in 2015.

It means that in terms of several key parameters, including neonatal mortality rate, under-five mortality rate, full immunisation coverage, institutional deliveries, and people living with HIV on anti-retroviral therapy, the state has failed to deliver. This decline can be attributed to complacency, signifying the inefficiency of the state’s own health-care initiative Swasthya Sathi, for which 50 lakh people have been enrolled. In the true spirit of federalism, Modicare urges states to bear 40 per cent of the expenses. By declining that proposal, Banerjee has passed up an opportunity to reach to a wider section of recipients who could have benefited from the Centre’s scheme. And, these recipients would have been the poorest of the poor who cannot dream of availing services of the private medical institutions and for whom the failure of the state would entail a serious compromise on health issues.

Banerjee’s political rivalry with the Prime Minister is acting as an impediment. ModiCare is shorn of politics and ideological hues. Banerjee should strive to take the Central scheme to every corner of the state. Good governance is essentially about improving the lives of people. In this instance, that has taken a backseat owing to pride and suspicion. That’s indeed unfortunate.