Modicare ambitiously plans healthcare for the poor, but doesn’t address the glaring concerns of past efforts
![Sepsis Shots For The Masses](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/241/294391/5b62fc6a449b9/Sepsis-Shots-For-The-Masses.jpg)
THIS Independence Day, the government promises deliverance from one of the biggest problems plaguing India’s poor: money to pay their medical bills. But many say the date to roll out Modicare—the catchier alias for Ayushman Bharat Mission, or National Health Protection Scheme—is chosen carefully to calibrate it with next year’s national elections. The signature initiative can be purposed to woo a large catchment of voters, many of whom struggle with rising medical costs and a crumbling public healthcare system.
The programme was announced in the Union Budget of 2018-19 to provide about 500 million people, mostly the poor living in the countryside, with health cover of Rs 5 lakh a year for free treatment of serious illnesses. The Narendra Modi government vowed to make healthcare affordable. Applause followed, as did criticism. The questions resurfaced days before the formal launch of Ayushman Bharat, which loosely means “an India blessed with a long life”.
Is this not a repurposed second innings of the UPA-era Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) that sought to provide free healthcare to families ‘below the poverty line’, or BPL, through a network of empanelled hospitals, mostly in small towns? The RSBY had an insurance cover of Rs 30,000 and pre-fixed rates for various procedures. But it got muddled in a series of frauds, undermining its foundation and purpose. So, how different is Modicare from Manmohancare?
Very different and much more aspiring, says Vinod Kumar Paul, a member in Niti Aayog’s health wing. “The RSBY was quite BPL-focused. It had coverage up to Rs 30,000 and some additional old-age cover was added later. We are offering Rs 5 lakh and targeting 40 per cent of the population based on the Socio Economic Caste Census,” he says.
This story is from the August 13, 2018 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 13, 2018 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![Criminal Amnesia](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/d52k83cu41725278926751/crp_CRIMINAL-AMNESIA.jpg)
Criminal Amnesia
The focus may have now shifted to the Kolkata gang rape case, but questions about the sexual violence in Manipur since May 2023 remain unanswered
![To Rape A Wife](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/3HGWlQ6881725280687456/crp_TO-RAPE-A-WIFE.jpg)
To Rape A Wife
Survivors of marital rape face twin hurdles: a lack of legal framework to deal with these cases and the social stigma that comes with reporting them
![A City Violated](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/K4CYTlVWO1725278786929/crp_A-CITY-VIOLATED.jpg)
A City Violated
Public outburst of anger over the rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata has left the Mamata Banerjee government puzzled, worried
![The Forest of Loss](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/Hs3uzqv4x1725281539269/THE-FOREST-OF-LOSS.jpg)
The Forest of Loss
From a legal perspective, justice appears to have been served in the 2017 Gudiya rape and murder case at Kotkhai, Himachal Pradesh. But several questions persist
![Here, Nobody Speaks of the Wounds](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/gyA2Dq9gZ1725281415367/HERE-NOBODY-SPEAKS-OF-THE-WOUNDS.jpg)
Here, Nobody Speaks of the Wounds
Muhammad Iqbal Shah's 14-year-old cousin was gang-raped and murdered at Handwara town, Kupwara, in 2007. The family is still trudging along the long road to justice
![She Must Have Been Afraid](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/1S7Zm02QJ1725281313088/SHE-MUST-HAVE-BEEN-AFRAID.jpg)
She Must Have Been Afraid
The 2012 Delhi gang rape is reflective of a systematic failure to cleanse the societal malaise
![The Burning Woman](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/ZBdKSaGun1725281170578/THE-BURNING-WOMAN.jpg)
The Burning Woman
UP has the highest rate of crimes against women, and the district of Unnao has seen some of the State's most gruesome cases
![Naked (vs.) Justice](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/-FD7ccoWk1725281015540/NAKED-VS-JUSTICE.jpg)
Naked (vs.) Justice
On March 14, 2006, Latabai and her son, six, were paraded naked in a village in Solapur. Less than six months later, four members of a Dalit family were paraded naked; mother & daughter were allegedly gang-raped
![Songlines of Chambal](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/6fcv7Vusf1725280830007/SONGLINES-OF-CHAMBAL.jpg)
Songlines of Chambal
How do the residents of Sheikhpur Gudha, Phoolan Devi's village in Uttar Pradesh, remember her: as a survivor, a rebel, a leader?
![Don't You Remember My Story?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/y8z4xX8_f1725280552018/DONT-YOU-REMEMBER-MY-STORY.jpg)
Don't You Remember My Story?
A child gang rape survivor's 12-year long ordeal in Sikar, Rajasthan shows how calls for punishment of perpetrators don't always mean empathy for the victim