With many of its 20,000 empanelled hospitals being converted into dedicated coronavirus disease (Covid-19) hospitals, the implementing agency of the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme has launched an express empanelment service to rapidly get on board more hospitals so non-Covid beneficiaries don’t lose out on medical treatment.
For Covid-19 treatment, separate treatment packages are being created that states government will take a final call on.
Several medical colleges, civil hospitals and district hospitals, which were otherwise treating the bulk of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJA) patients, are being converted into dedicated Covid-19 facilities in States.
The National Health Authority (NHA), which implements the state-run insurance scheme, has started a new service called Hospital Empanelment Module (HEM) Lite, for patients suffering from serious illnesses such as cancer, cardiac issues and diabetes that require continuous treatment.
“We are also dividing our empanelled hospitals under Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 hospitals, largely to prevent cross-infection. Since most of the hospitals are providing Covid-19 treatment, we decided to bring more hospitals on board for non-Covid patients,” said Dr Indu Bhushan, chief executive officer of AB-PMJAY.
“The packages, especially for Covid-19 treatment, are being designed since it is a new disease and doesn’t fit into our regular package structure. We have given states a free hand and they will be designing as per local needs. These hospitals have the choice whether to provide regular treatment under the scheme or convert themselves into dedicated Covid-19 hospitals,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“The packages, especially for Covid-19 treatment, are being designed since it is a new disease and doesn’t fit into our regular package structure. We have given states a free hand and they will be designing as per local needs. These hospitals have the choice whether to provide regular treatment under the scheme or convert themselves into dedicated Covid-19 hospitals,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The express empanelment will be open for three months, and later extended if a hospital desires but it will have to go through the usual empanelment process that may take longer. “We are merely fast-tracking the process now keeping in mind the outbreak situation,” said Dr. Bhushan.
Using the HEM Lite process, it will take less than one hour for a hospital to fill the application form along with documents. The system has been built in a way to ensure that the rest of the process of approvals by concerned authorities is expeditious, say NHA officials.
Last week, the government had brought testing and treatment of Covid-19 under AB-PMJAY so as to provide free testing and treatment to the beneficiaries at private labs and hospitals.