Support from the top creates a buzz: Dr Indu Bhushan

Since its inception, which states have shown the best results and which are the bottom performing states?

Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and even Assam have shown tremendous progress overall. When it comes to the green field states (states which did not have an existing state health scheme), Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have done surprisingly well.

Gujarat and Tamil Nadu already had a good medical infrastructure and thus easier to implement the scheme and show results. What is the status of states like Bihar?

Bihar needs improvement in terms of infrastructure and thus the scheme implementation has been slow there. It can learn from Jharkhand, another state which had poor infrastructure but is now leading in the number of e-card registrations. Even Assam has shown good progress. A lot of progress depends on the political commitment of the state as well. Jharkhand has a strong political commitment with putting right people in places; if the support comes from the top, it creates a buzz.

Are there any states which have signed the MoU, but not implemented the scheme?

There are no such states, but yes, there are states where the implementation has been delayed but it will start. For instance, Puducherry is currently negotiating its contract with the insurance agency. Same is the case with Kerela and Punjab, where tenders have been floated. Rajasthan has also signed for the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

With the budget cuts, how will the scheme implementation be managed?

Money has not been a problem for this scheme. It has been sufficient and the government has been generous, mainly because this is the flagship scheme of the government and they will make sure that the money does not cause a hindrance in providing healthcare.

Do you receive grievances/patient refusal complaints from hospitals?

Yes. With a scheme as big as this, there are bound to be cases where patients are either denied free treatment or are charged. We have a management team to take serious action against such grievances and get in touch with either the hospital or the state to look into the matter in detail.

But as most of the beneficiaries are vulnerable, I'm sure there are instances where the cases do not reach us and have gone unnoticed. We, however, do our best to help the ones who reach out to us.

How do you deal with fraud websites/applications?

Our IT team regularly breaks down applications and websites selling fraud registrations. While it is easier to take down applications, websites take longer as most of these are registered outside India. We have registered several FIRs against these fraud websites.