The CAG released a report on one of the most important schemes of PM Modi, Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), which states that patients who were earlier shown dead are still undergoing treatment. While giving clarification on Thursday, the Health Ministry said that the claims being made in the media regarding the Ayushman Bharat scheme are misleading. The ministry also said that mobile numbers have no role to play in deciding the eligibility of the beneficiary.

Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, containing the results of the Performance Audit on Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri- Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) covering the period September 2018 to March 2021, to be tabled in Parliament in the 2023 Monsoon Session was laid. After this information came to the fore, the opposition criticized the central government.

In the statement, the Health Ministry said that it is clarified that under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, hospitals are permitted to initiate requests for pre-authorization up to date up to three days after hospitalization. This facility is provided to avoid denial of treatment in case of limited connectivity, emergency situations etc. In some cases, patients were admitted and died before their pre-authorization could be extended.

In such cases, the date of death is the same as or earlier than the date of recruitment. Additionally, the death has also been reported by the same hospital that submitted the pre-authorization request. Thus, if the intention of the hospital was to cheat the system, it would not have shown any interest in declaring the patient dead on the IT system.

It is pertinent to note that more than 50 percent of the cases highlighted in the report are reported by public hospitals, which have no additional incentive to commit fraud, as the money is reimbursed to the hospital account. Further, in case of death during treatment, the hospital shall compulsorily submit the death report.

The statement added that there were also instances where patients were admitted to the hospital as private patients (self-paying), but when they came to know of the scheme, they asked the hospital to provide them free of cost treatment under the scheme. requested to register under The facility of allowing back-dated pre-authorization helps people to save on their out-of-pocket expenditures.

Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY identifies beneficiaries through Aadhaar identification wherein the beneficiary undergoes the process of mandatory Aadhaar-based e-KYC. The details retrieved from the Aadhaar database are matched with the source database and accordingly, the request for an Ayushman card is approved or rejected based on the beneficiary details. Thus, mobile numbers have no role to play in the verification process.

The Ayushman Bharat scheme launched in 2018 was aimed at reducing out-of-pocket expenditure for the poor and vulnerable population seeking healthcare. This health insurance scheme was launched in both rural and urban areas.