Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana

If Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana is backed by funds and intent, the state-sponsored insurance scheme has the potential to reform healthcare in India

Government health insurance schemes may have eased costs for the poorest, but the programmes have had a chequered record in India so far

A report said Ayushmann Bharat will positively impact the current healthcare ecosystem in the country by focusing on low-cost, good-quality drugs and centralised procurement

'Modicare', labelled the world's largest health assurance scheme, aims to offer a health cover of Rs5 lakh per family per year, targeting over 100 million poor and vulnerable families

Ayushman Bharat scheme aims to provide a coverage of Rs5 lakh per family annually and benefit more than 10 crore families belonging to the poor and vulnerable sections of the society

No matter how generous the eligibility criteria and coverage of Modicare, it will have limited effect unless eligible households enrol

Apart from ensuring that the scheme reaches the intended beneficiaries, the government will also have to guard against possible unintended consequences, such as abuse of the system by hospitals and insurers

Going by recent evidence, the govt's attempts to pass on some costs of the proposed National Health Protection Scheme to insurers or states may not go down well

The new health insurance scheme offers a sum insured of Rs5 lakh and will work like a floater policy much like the RSBY

Proposals of National Health Policy under Ayushman Bharat announced in Union Budget 2018 provide the thrust for India's journey towards universal health coverage