Even As Kerala’s Health Care System Crumbles, Communist Government May Pull Out Of Ayushmann Bharat  

Even as Kerala’s healthcare system is crumbling, the Communist Party Of India Marxist led government is likely to pull out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Ayushmann Bharat scheme reports Mathrubhumi.

Reports suggest that Kerala has deferred signing a MoU with the Ayushmann Bharath (National Health Protection Mission). Ironically a final call on the matter will only be taken after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan returns from the US after his health checkup.

The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced Ayushmann Bharat scheme which seeks to cover ten crore poor and vulnerable families under a health cover of upto Rs 5 lakh per year during his Union budget announcement on 1 February.

It has been touted as the biggest healthcare scheme in the world and is popularly referred to as Modicare on the lines of Obamacare in the United States.

About 18.5 lakh families rural areas and 5 lakh families of urban regions selected from the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) in Kerala would benefit from the scheme.

Kerala is said to have pulled out because of the fear of payment of higher premium than the centre.

Earlier last week Tamil Nadu had joined Ayushmann Bharat scheme. Kerala, Delhi and WestBengal were among the few states who were holding back from the scheme due to political reasons.