Lok Sabha Question No. 2641 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-04
Subject: Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Balashowry Vallabbhaneni

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRY OFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2641 TO BE ANSWERED ON 4 th August, 2023

## AYUSHMAN BHARATPM-JAY

## 2641. SHRI BALASHOWRY VALLABHANENI :

## Will the MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is true that outpatient treatment is more burdensome to cancer patients than the treatment as an inpatient and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has noted this unacceptable spending on cancer patients and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government helps cancer patients to reduce out-of-pocket expenses and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the extent to which Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY is helping cancer patients?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (PROF. SATYA PAL SINGH BAGHEL)

(a) to (d) : The Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, provides technical and financial support to the States/UTs under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of NonCommunicable Diseases (NP-NCD) as part of National Health Mission (NHM), based on the proposals received from the States/UTs and subject to the resource envelope.

The programme includes the following:

- i. Strengthening infrastructure
- ii. Human resource development
- iii. Health promotion
- iv. Screening of 30 years and above population under Ayushman Bharat Health Wellness Centre
- v. Early diagnosis and management
- vi. Referral to an appropriate level of healthcare facility

Under NP-NCD, 326 District Day Care Centres have been set up to ensure continuum of chemotherapy of patients already put on treatment.

The Central Government implements Strengthening of Tertiary Care Cancer Facilities Scheme. 19 State Cancer Institutes (SCIs) and 20 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCCs) have been approved under the said scheme. 17 institutes are functional so far.

National Cancer Institute at Jhajjar (Haryana) and second campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata has also been setup. All existing and new AIIMS and many upgraded institutions under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY) also focus on treatment of cancer.

The treatment in Government Hospitals is either free or highly subsidized for the poor and needy. Under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary or tertiary care hospitalization to over 60 Crores beneficiaries is provided. AB PM-JAY provides treatment corresponding to a total of 1,949 procedures under 27 different specialties including diseases such as Cancer, Heart Disease, and other diseases etc, of which 549 procedures related to Cancer are covered under AB PM-JAY. The treatment packages under AB PM-JAY are very comprehensive which includes pre-hospitalization expenses including diagnostics, premedication, pre-anesthetic examination, and consultation relevant to the present disease for up to 3 days and the package amount also covers post-hospitalization expenses including drug expenses for up to 15-days under this scheme.

Treatment of Cancer under AB PM-JAY has been one of the prime focus areas to safeguard the beneficiaries from catastrophic expenditure of cancer treatment. In order to ensure a comprehensive treatment cover for various types of cancer and related ailments, NHA has concluded Memoranda of Understanding with National Cancer Grid (NCG) and Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH). As of 30th March 2023, approximately 31.13 Lakh hospital admissions worth Rs. 5,800 Crores have been authorized under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY for cancer-related treatment. This is a direct out-of-pocket expenditure saving. If these services would have been availed from the market, the cost would have been at least 1.5-2 times higher as the package rates under PMJAY benefit from the economy of the scale. Therefore, Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY has resulted in huge out-of-pocket expenditure saving related to hospitalizations for the targeted beneficiaries.

Quality generic medicines are made available at affordable prices to all, under Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) in collaboration with the State Governments. Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) Pharmacy stores have been set up in some hospitals/institutions, with an objective to make available Cancer drugs at a substantial discount vis-à-vis the Maximum Retail Price.

Financial assistance is provided to poor patients belonging to families living below poverty line, suffering from major life-threatening diseases including cancer under Umbrella scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) and Health Minister ' s Discretionary Grant (HMDG). Financial assistance upto a maximum of Rs. 1,25,000/- is provided under HMDG to defray a part of the treatment cost and the maximum financial assistance provided under the Umbrella Scheme of RAN is Rs. 15 lakhs.

*****