With the Union government all set to officially launch the Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection programme on April 14, the scheme gives the country’s access to quality treatment within a limit of Rs 5 lakh per family.

Healthcare is a higher priority for the country. On the occasion of the World Health Day observed annually on April 7, this year’s theme revolves around Universal Health Care (UHC). Medical experts see it as symbolic for India with the government’s Ayushman Bharat to provide affordable healthcare to 50 crore people.

According to Dr Jyothsna Krishnappa, Senior Consultant General Physician and Internal Medicine, Apollo Hospital, it is after many years that the Union Budget of 2018 has given its due focus to the healthcare sector. The surge in non communicable diseases (NCDs) in India stems from a hectic lifestyle. In order to stay fit and healthy, one needs to make right lifestyle decisions.

“With majority lacking healthcare access in India, Ayushman Bharat will move India towards UHC. It would also be the government's responsibility to address the quality, accessibility and affordability of basic healthcare. With NCDs burden, the focus needs to be on early detection, which will allow prevention and better management of these diseases and improve manpower productivity. When implemented, and executed, Ayushman Bharat may prove to be transformational for India,” noted Sam Santosh, chairman and founder, MedGenome.

Ayurveda can contribute to UHC. India is one of the few countries globally where medical pluralism prevails. There is access to officially recognised alternative systems like Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani. However, practitioners of different medical systems are confined in their own silos and compete rather than cooperate professionally to provide integrative care to patients, said Dr. P Ram Manohar, Research Director, Amrita Centre for Advanced Research in Ayurveda, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kerala.

According to Dr. Harish Pillai, CEO, Aster Hospitals & Clinics, India and Aster DM Healthcare this year focus on ‘UHC for everyone, everywhere’. This coincides with what is turning out to be a historic year for India, with the Union Government announcing the launch of the world’s largest UHC program: Ayushman Bharat. It is heartening to see health taking centre-stage as the country moves ahead on the road to economic prosperity.

According to Shravan Subramanyam, managing director, Roche Diagnostics India, the government has identified the benefit preventive healthcare can bring with reduced disease burden and hospitalization spends. The cornerstone to preventive healthcare is timely and quality diagnostics. Thus, I would recommend that Ayushman Bharat includes diagnostic services so that timely disease prevention and detection is made possible. This should be a good first step towards ensuring quality healthcare for the underprivileged segments of the society.

Dr Somesh Mittal CEO, Vikram Hospital, Bengaluru, said that UHC is a good initiative by the government. With this the health outcomes of underprivileged and needy would improve and access to high-quality health services will be more affordable and equitably distributed.
Ameera Shah, managing director and promoter, Metropolis Healthcare, said UHC is a noble idea. The big-ticket promise of'National Health Protection Scheme or Ayushman Bharat signals the government's intention in the right direction.