Lok Sabha Question No. 799 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-07
Subject: Ayushman Bharat Yojana in Assam
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Gaurav Gogoi

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOF HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 799 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07 TH FEBRUARY, 2025

## AYUSHMAN BHARATYOJANAIN ASSAM

## 799. SHRI GAURAV GOGOI:

Will the Minister of HEALTHAND FAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that DR. B. Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI) in Guwahati suspended treatment under the Ayushman Bharat card due to insufficient funds;
- (b) if so, the steps taken by the Government to address the situation and several other reports of issues in the final stage of delivery of the scheme;
- (c) the total number of families in Assam enrolled as beneficiaries under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, district-wise;
- (d) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to ensure adequate empanelment, especially in remote areas, to facilitate timely access to healthcare services; and
- (e) whether the Government has conducted any impact assessment to evaluate the program's effectiveness in improving healthcare access and outcomes in Assam and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV)

- (a): Dr. B. Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), Guwahati, which is empaneled under Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in the State of Assam, has continued to provide treatment to all admitted scheme beneficiaries. As on 03.02.2025, more than 86,548 hospital admissions worth Rs. 159 crore have been authorized under AB-PMJAY in Dr. B. Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), Guwahati.

(b): In view of (a) above, the question does not arise.

(c): Under AB-PMJAY, a total of 57.70 lakh families corresponding to 1.72 crore individuals have made their Ayushman cards in the State of Assam. The district-wise details of the families who have enrolled under AB-PMJAY in the State of Assam are at Annexure .

(d): National Health Authority (NHA) engages with State Health Agencies to increase the number of empaneled hospitals under the scheme in order to expand the available options for the beneficiaries to avail quality healthcare services. As on 04.02.2025, over 30,072 hospitals are empanelled across the nation including 352 hospitals in the State of Assam. In order to improve the participation of hospitals, following actions have been taken:

- i. NHA has released a revised HBP with increased number of procedures (1961). Further, rates have been increased for 350 packages and new packages have been added.
- ii. Claim settlement is monitored at the highest level and it is ensured that claim is settled within defined turnaround time.
- iii. NHA has launched an improved version of the Hospital Engagement Module (HEM 2.0) for enhancing the empanelment process of the hospitals.
- iv. Virtual and physical capacity building of hospitals are undertaken.
- v. Ahospital-specific call center (14413) has been set-up to address their concern on a real-time basis.
- vi. District Implementation Units (DIUs) have been set-up to regularly visit empaneled hospitals to understand the issues faced by beneficiaries and hospitals.

As public health is a State subject, the responsibility of empaneling hospitals under AB-PMJAY lies with the respective State/UT. Further, hospital empanelment is a continuous process and is undertaken based on the requirements and availability of healthcare providers (meeting ABPMJAY criteria) within a given State/UT. The Government of India encourages States/UTs to empanel more hospitals under the scheme to ensure access to quality healthcare to all eligible beneficiaries.

(e): A baseline study was commissioned by the Government of India in 2019-2020 to understand the impact of AB-PMJAY. The study inter-alia recommended strategies to increase awareness of the scheme, addressing barriers in accessing healthcare services to ensure that beneficiaries receive specialized care timely, replicating experiences from other settings like dedicated staff to guide and assist beneficiaries, establishing communication and feedback channels to allow beneficiaries to voice their concerns. Further, in 2024, another study was commissioned with the main objective to understand beneficiary awareness and knowledge of the scheme, utilization status, beneficiary journey and satisfaction as well as to assess the overall impact of AB-PMJAY (both demand and supply side).

Annexure

District-wise details of families who have enrolled under AB-PMJAY in the State of Assam

|   S No. | District                | Number of families enrolled   |
|---------|-------------------------|-------------------------------|
|       1 | Baksa                   | 1,93,140                      |
|       2 | Barpeta                 | 3,27,386                      |
|       3 | Biswanath               | 1,45,505                      |
|       4 | Bongaigaon              | 1,41,624                      |
|       5 | Cachar                  | 3,04,684                      |
|       6 | Charaideo               | 93,950                        |
|       7 | Chirang                 | 98,877                        |
|       8 | Darrang                 | 1,73,519                      |
|       9 | Dhemaji                 | 1,42,968                      |
|      10 | Dhubri                  | 2,94,519                      |
|      11 | Dibrugarh               | 2,40,156                      |
|      12 | Dima Hasao              | 26,953                        |
|      13 | Goalpara                | 1,69,022                      |
|      14 | Golaghat                | 2,26,680                      |
|      15 | Hailakandi              | 1,24,423                      |
|      16 | Hojai                   | 1,33,433                      |
|      17 | Jorhat                  | 2,10,391                      |
|      18 | Kamrup                  | 3,08,347                      |
|      19 | Kamrup Metro            | 1,62,887                      |
|      20 | Karbi Anglong           | 89,388                        |
|      21 | Karimganj               | 2,15,560                      |
|      22 | Kokrajhar               | 1,77,824                      |
|      23 | Lakhimpur               | 2,00,894                      |
|      24 | Majuli                  | 36,294                        |
|      25 | Marigaon                | 1,83,900                      |
|      26 | Nagaon                  | 3,43,161                      |
|      27 | Nalbari                 | 1,57,218                      |
|      28 | Sivasagar               | 1,49,675                      |
|      29 | Sonitpur                | 1,97,549                      |
|      30 | South Salmara Mancachar | 68,399                        |
|      31 | Tinsukia                | 2,36,467                      |
|      32 | Udalguri                | 1,64,206                      |
|      33 | West Karbi Anglong      | 31,980                        |

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