So far, during the current quarter from October to December, 21.36 lakhs of patients have been admitted to hospitals under the scheme, 56% more compared to 13.7 lakh during April-June. Of the total admissions of 21.36 lakh, the private sector accounted for 12.54 lakh or 58.70% of hospitalizations.
Compared to the pre-Covid period, hospitalizations in the private sector during the last three months increased by 10.6% compared to 11.33 lakh during the same period (October-December) last year.
However, general hospitalizations under the scheme are still slightly below the pre-Covid level, as admissions to the public sector are lower. Around 23.53 lakh of hospital admissions, together in the public and private sector, were registered under the insurance scheme during October-December last year.
Hospitalization in government hospitals remains low compared to the time before Covid. During the current October-December quarter, 8.82 lakh admissions were recorded in the public sector, compared with 12.20 lakh in the same period a year ago. However, the numbers are better compared to around 7 lakh of admissions during April-June after the pandemic hit the country.
India reported the first confirmed case of Covid-19 on January 30 and a nationwide shutdown was announced on March 24, imposing travel restrictions. It also affected health-seeking behavior amid fears of infection, as many health facilities were diverted to care for Covid patients.
Services in the private healthcare sector were affected as many had initially interrupted services after the Covid-19 outbreak. “A large part of government hospital beds have been dedicated to Covid patients. There is also a tendency among the beneficiaries of the plan to go to private hospitals for fear of infection, ”said Indu Bhushan, executive director of the National Health Authority.
He added that the boost from the private sector in recent months has also helped accelerate the pace of hospitalizations. So far, more than 71,000 patients have received Covid treatments and more than 6.86 lakhs of Covid tests have been performed under the scheme.
There are 24,155 spliced hospitals under the AB-PMJAY scheme where beneficiaries can seek care with free health coverage of Rs 5 lakh per year. While 45% of hospitals are in the private sector, 54% of 1.5 crore hospitalizations so far have been in private hospitals.
AB-Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) is touted as the world’s largest government-run health insurance plan. So far, 12.79 million rupees electronic cards have been issued under the scheme.
NHA data shows that Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have recorded the highest number of hospitalizations under the scheme in the past two years since its inception in September 2018.
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