BASIC with Dr. Ashish Jha
MUMBAI: On 6th December 2018, Asia Society India Centre in partnership with Dalberg Advisors hosted Dr. Ashish Jha, Director, Harvard Global Health Institute and K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard University for a talk on the Ayushman Bharat, India’s healthcare protection scheme.
In an informative session, Dr. Jha shared his thoughts on the recently launched Ayushman Bharat or National Health Protection Scheme by the Indian government, and the possible implementation challenges that may arise in the near future.
Jha began his talk by stating that the scheme would produce many positive results for the population and India’s economy as the payoffs would include increased life expectancy and improve the working ability of the people. While calling it the most ambitious universal health programme covering over 500 million people, he added that the scheme may face a few potential problems like overlooking the financial protection of the common man, as was observed in the healthcare systems of China and USA. Shortage of health resources, data and primary healthcare centres could further plague the efficient implementation of the scheme. Dr. Jha went on to recommend measures that would improve the state of primary healthcare service providers, verification of qualified medical professionals and investments in urban healthcare systems.
The lecture was followed by an engaging discussion with a myriad of audience questions, ranging from the role of insurance providers, institutionalization of better policies, benefits of a hybrid insurance model, the co-payment methods in healthcare schemes among other pertinent issues.
As reported by Deepashree Mahajan, Programme Assistant, Asia Society India Centre.
This discussion is a part of Asia Society's BASIC series. The BASIC series presents intimate, invitation-only breakfast round tables that bring together eminent speakers from the fields of Asian business and policy. This represents the kind of informed forum, nuanced insight and new connections that Asia Society aims to bring to bear around key topics of relevance today.