Vardhan slams Kejriwal over Ayushman Bharat stand

New Delhi: In a letter to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday, Union minister of health and family welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan said that by not implementing the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the chief minister shows he is least interested in the welfare of the people of the national capital.

Dr Vardhan invited Mr Kejriwal to be part of the historical health sector revolution visualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He urged Mr Kejriwal to join hands to celebrate each milestone in the journey towards a new India.

The Union health minister’s letter came a day after Mr Kejriwal asserted that Delhi government will not implement AB-PMJAY.

Dr Vardhan said the claim, that the Delhi government is implementing free health care and therefore implementing the Ayushman Bharat scheme, is baseless.

“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,” the Union health minister elaborated in his reply.

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.

“AB-PMJAY targets almost 30 lakh (15 per cent of 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 who were earning less than Rs 10,000 per month in 2011 are eligible under the scheme,” Dr Harsh Vardhan added. Disproving Mr Kejriwal’s claim of unlimited cover being provided under the “free health scheme of Delhi government,” Dr Vardhan said that unlimited cover has no meaning if people still have to pay to get the treatment.

“AB-PMJAY insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per year is good. In the eight months of its implementation, only 10 families out of almost 10.74 crore families have exhausted this cover,” Union minister Vardhan added.