Ayushman Bharat reaches half population of Coastal Karnataka

Bengaluru: At least half of the residents in coastal districts have Ayushman Bharat – Aarogya Karnataka Card reveals the data from the state Health Department.

Aayushman Bharat Scheme has recently completed three years and promises to cover the hospitalization expenses of beneficiaries. Presently the expenses are capped at Rs. 5 lakh per year for Below Poverty Line (BPL) households and Rs. 1.5 lakh per year for Above Poverty Line (APL) households.

Karnataka’s population stands at 7.02 Crores. Out of these, 1.47 crore citizens from 58.8 lakh households have registered for Aayushman Card. In other words, the welfare scheme has reached only 20 percent population in the state.

However, coverage has been much higher in coastal Karnataka. Here, the average climbs to 50 percent. Out of the coastal districts, Udupi has 64 percent coverage, followed by Kodagu at 58 percent, Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada at 41 percent and 37 percent respectively. The health consciousness of the residents, effective dissemination of information about the scheme, and the higher numbers of BJP leaders are some of the reasons for the higher coverage in the coastal areas.

In the Malnad regions of Shivamogga, Chikmagalur, and Hassan coverage is at 40 percent. Mandya (40 percent coverage), Bengaluru Rural (30 percent coverage) also find a place in the top 10 districts.

Dismal performance in North Karnataka

In half of the districts, the coverage ratio is lesser than the state average of 20 percent. All 12 districts of the North Karnataka region, along with Davanagere and Chitradurga have performed poorly.

Raichur, Bengaluru City, Ballari, Vijayapura, and Davanagere are placed at the bottom with an average of 10 percent population covered.

Scheme reaches 82 percent poor population

The state has 55.96 lakh households with a BPL card. Of these, 1.2 crore beneficiaries have registered i.e. 82 percent of the poor have been covered by the health scheme. Of the 2.5 lakh APL families, only 3.5 percent have registered so far.

The Commissioner of the Health and Family Welfare Services Dr. Thrilok Chandra said that the Ayushman Bharat card is being issued at all government hospitals and Bapuji Service Centers in the state. The department plans to raise awareness and opening more registration centers for better coverage in North Karnataka, he added.