Niti Ayog moves proposal for formation of National Health Authority
NDA government’s flagship health programme Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana could soon be out of bounds for the Union health ministry.
Government is looking at the constitution of a National Health Authority chaired by Union health minister that would report directly to the prime minister’s office. The administrative authority would be Niti Ayog rather than the health ministry, as is the case with the National Health Agency currently implementing PMJAY.
While all sides concerned have strong opinions on the matter, it will ultimately have to be a call of the Union cabinet.
NHA is a registered society under the ministry of health while the health authority that has been proposed, would be backed by an act of Parliament. The proposal, mooted by Niti Ayog has not gone down well with large sections of the health ministry which has flagged several concerns while officially “supporting” it.
The primary concern for the ministry is the absolute mandate the proposed authority would have on the pricing of PMJAY services. The fact that these are paid for by the government but cater only to about 40 percent of population, could, some sections of the government feel, lead to an artificial inflation in the healthcare sector that would adversely impact those not covered by the scheme.
PMJAY, touted as the world’s largest government health insurance programme, was launched on September 23. It has given an annual cover of Rs 5 lakh to 10.74 crore deprived families.
Those in favour of a the proposed authority meanwhile say without pricing independence PMJAY would become an unviable scheme. Statutory backing with penal powers that say, is essential for fraud control in a scheme of this magnitude.
While all sides concerned have strong opinions on the matter, it will ultimately have to be a call of the Union cabinet.
