AB PM-JAY Blog
The govt’s flagship health scheme has crossed 1 crore treatments, positively impacted lives
By Dr. Harsh VardhanPublished on 23 May 2020 in The Indian Express

On May 20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that every Indian should be proud that Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) has crossed one crore treatments, and has had a positive impact on many lives.
An Expert Explains: What SARS taught East Asia, and what India can learn from Covid
By Dr Indu BhushanPublished on 09 May 2020 in The Indian Express

At the height of the SARS crisis that hit East Asia in 2003, the Health Minister of Vietnam, Madame Tran Thi Trung Chien, told me, “Mr. Indu, we can catch crabs only during low tide.” Vietnam being largely a coastal country, she had very cogently contextualised Churchill’s famous quote, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”
Private sector must be a wholehearted partner of government in fight against COVID-19
By Dr Indu BhushanPublished on 16 Apr 2020 in The Indian Express

The country — indeed the world at large — is facing the century’s biggest crisis. Countries across the development spectrum are grappling with an unprecedented situation in which a viral illness, COVID-19, has spiralled into a global pandemic in less than 90 days, bringing most of the world to a standstill.
Covid-19: Private sector has a key role in the battle
By Dr Indu BhushanPublished on 13 Apr 2020 in Hindustan Times

Countries across the development spectrum are grappling with an unprecedented situation in which a seemingly innocuous viral illness, the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), has spiralled into a global pandemic in less than 90 days. It has infected more than 1.7 million people in more than 200 countries, claimed over 100,000 lives, and brought most of the world to a standstill.
Powering the health-care engine with innovation
By Dr Indu BhushanPublished on 19 Feb 2020 in The Hindu

It has been close to 18 months since the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, launched the country-wide implementation of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), or the national health protection scheme; the initial momentum has been very encouraging.
PMJAY can help bridge the gender gap in availing of healthcare services
By Dr Indu BhushanPublished on 12 Dec 2019 in The Indian Express

Among the three major specialty services provided by PM-JAY— oncology, cardiology and nephrology — a majority of the users of oncology services are women. However, there are large gender gaps in the use of cardiology and nephrology-related services.
The challenging quest for universal health coverage | Opinion
By Dr Indu BhushanPublished on 11 Dec 2019 in Hindustan Times

The dream of providing universal health coverage (UHC) has never been as close to reality as it is now. As we mark the UHC Day, let us acknowledge that India needs UHC.
A blueprint for making Ayushman Bharat truly effective on the ground | Opinion
By Dr Harsh MahajanPublished on 02 Dec 2019 in Hindustan Times

The health and wellness centres (HWCs) under the Ayushman Bharat scheme have the potential to help achieve the Universal Health Coverage goal, but inadequate infrastructure and an insufficiently skilled workforce remain major roadblocks.
One year of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana: 50 lakh hospital treatments with an eye towards universal health coverage
By Dr Indu BhushanPublished on 21 Oct 2019 in My Gov

Free secondary and tertiary treatment worth nearly Rs. 7,996 crores availed. Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh emerge as the top performing States
More than half a crore treatments have been availed by poor and vulnerable Indians through Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), the flagship scheme of the Government of India in its first one year of operation.
Ayushman Bharat, a change whose time has come
By Dr Devi ShettyPublished on 26 Sep 2019 in The Economic Times

Sixteen years ago, when there was drought in Karnataka, farmers lost the capacity to buy healthcare. I was able to convince the state government to launch a micro health insurance scheme through cooperative societies with a premium of Rs 5 per month per person. The government was kind enough to agree to be the reinsurer. Four hundred hospitals across the state agreed to treat these patients. This is how the Yeshasvini micro health insurance scheme was born.
Achieving Universal Coverage
By Dr Harsh MahajanPublished on 26 Sep 2019 in Millenniumpost

It is now time for the private sector to rise up to the challenge posed by Ayushman Bharat in one year since its inception.
Blueprint for a healthy India: Ayushman Bharat must tackle several challenges if it is to deliver tangible health benefits on scale
By Kiran Mazumdar-ShawPublished on 25 Sep 2019 in The Times of India

A healthy India is a wealthy India. For an emerging economic superpower, health of its people is critical for economic productivity. Ayushman Bharat, which recently completed a year of existence, was conceptualised as an insurance based, healthcare delivery model that dovetails both preventive and curative healthcare at a coverage of Rs 5,00,000 per family per year.
In Ayushman Bharat, primary and secondary healthcare complement each other
By Dr Indu BhushanPublished on 23 Sep 2019 in The Indian Express

There is no trade-off between primary care and curative care; the policy challenge is to strengthen both. Ayushman Bharat does exactly that with its two legs.
In one year, PM-JAY has created a framework for comprehensive universal healthcare
By Dr Indu BhushanPublished on 23 Sep 2019 in The Indian Express

Ayushman Bharat is a conscious attempt to holistically address health, encompassing prevention, promotion and ambulatory care at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
The battle for a disease-free India
By Dr. Harsh VardhanPublished on 23 Sep 2019 in Hindustan Times

Our people are our greatest strength. India cannot realise its demographic dividend without its citizens being healthy. This government believes in realising the full potential of our people, and, so, has made health a national priority.
Ayushman Bharat – Accelerating India on the path to Universal Healthcare
By Dr. Harsh VardhanPublished on 23 Sep 2019 in Press Information Bureau, Government of India

Our people are our greatest strength. India cannot realise its demographic dividend without its citizens being healthy. This government resolutely believes in realising the full potential of our people and has therefore made health a national priority.
Ten concerns on Ayushman Bharat: Universal healthcare is coming, here’s why those worries are mistaken
By Dr Indu BhushanPublished on 26 Jul 2019 in The Times of India

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) has been the most talked about health sector scheme in recent times. Given the scale and ambition of the scheme – with its target group larger than the combined population of Canada, the United States and Mexico – it is not surprising. As could be expected, the scheme has a large number of supporters who are highly inspired by its vision and promise.
Getting Coverage Right for 500 Million Indians
By Sarthak Das, D.P.H., and Ashish K. Jha, M.D., M.P.H.Published on 22 May 2019 in The New England Journal of Medicine
India is in the midst of a remarkably ambitious health insurance expansion. In September 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a plan that will cover an additional 500 million Indians.
In Ayushman Bharat, primary and secondary healthcare complement each other
By Dr Indu BhushanPublished on 21 Mar 2019 in The Indian Express

Recent media reports, including ones in this newspaper, have raised concerns that Ayushman Bharat promotes secondary and tertiary care at the cost of primary care. These reports attribute these concerns to Amartaya Sen’s recent comments on the scheme, which may have been taken out of context.
No trade-offs in healthcare
By Dr Indu BhushanPublished on 09 Nov 2018 in The Indian Express

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana will catalyse changes in the health sector. It is not a substitute for a foundation built on primary care.
Indian healthcare is poised for a great leap forward with Ayushman Bharat – which will insure over 50 crore citizens
By Jagat Prakash NaddaPublished on 20 Sep 2018 in Times of India

Flowing from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership, the National Health Policy 2017 was formulated to achieve the highest possible level of good health and well-being, and universal access to good quality healthcare services without anyone having to face financial hardship as a consequence.
In the Wellness of All Things
Amitabh Kant & Indu BhushanPublished on 29 Aug 2018 in The Economic Times

The sight of a family teetering on the brink of hope and despondency, surviving and falling into economic ruin on account of ill health is distressingly common. GoI’s health expenditure at 1.13% of its GDP is the lowest among the emerging developing countries. China’s expenditure is 2.45%, and Thailand’s 2.90% of its GDP.
Ayushman Bharat Yojna is world’s most imaginative and inclusive public health scheme
Dr. Naresh TrehanPublished on 07 Apr 2018 in Hindustan Times

The Ayushman Bharat Yojna is a path-breaking scheme. It is capable of exercising a transformative impact if implemented in an effective and coordinated manner