In Odisha, uncertainty prevails over a popular medical scheme as BJP says will end it

UNCERTAINTY OVER a popular healthcare scheme launched by the Naveen Patnaik government in 2018, which the BJP had promised to replace with the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Yojana if it came to power in Odisha, has led to complaints of empanelled private hospitals turning away patients within days of a change of guard in the state.

Confirming the complaints, the state Health Department has issued a clarification that the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) continues to be in force even as sources in Raj Bhavan said Governor Raghubar Das has asked state Chief Secretary P K Jena to take appropriate measures to remove the confusion. Later, Jena warned of “strict action” against hospitals that deny treatment under the BSKY.

This came a day after state BJP chief Manmohan Samal said that the BSKY had “limited scope” and “would be shut”. “We will implement the Ayushman Bharat Yojana the day we form the government in the state. Around 1.5 crore Odias, who are outside the state, will also be able  to avail treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh under the scheme,” Samal told reporters at the party office.

Samal, however, later issued a statement saying that denying treatment to patients on the pretext of “confusion over the BSKY” is a social and legal crime. He appealed to the administration to issue directives to hospitals to continue treatment under the scheme.

The non-implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana in Odisha was one of the issues vociferously raised by the BJP top brass during campaigning for the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state. It found mention in almost every speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who accused the Naveen Patnaik government of depriving the people of the benefits of the central scheme. Modi