Modi's Ayushman Bharat scheme: On-boarding state hospitals a challenge

The Ayushman Bharat team is persuading government hospitals to be an active part of the scheme

After national roll-out of the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PMJAY), to provide insurance cover for poor families up to Rs 500,000 in a year for critical in-patient treatment, the team in charge is busy ironing out issues with states.

On-boarding of government hospitals seems a challenge in, for instance, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. 

Senior members of the scheme, widely referred to as Ayushman Bharat, are visiting states to ensure adequate training of hospital staff (using information technology systems) and the Aarogya Mitras (facilitators in the empanelled hospitals). 

The latter are to help beneficiaries with the verification and authentication process,