Denied Ayushman benefits, 72-year-old man kills self; NHA seeks report
What's the story
The National Health Authority (NHA) has sought a report from the State Health Authority after a 72-year-old Bengaluru man allegedly died by suicide after being denied medical benefits under the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY senior citizen scheme.
The retired state government employee and cancer patient died by suicide on December 25.
He had enrolled in the senior citizen scheme—which promises ₹5 lakh annual cover—but the Kidwai Memorial Institute Of Oncology (KMIO) refused the benefit citing pending state government orders, TOI reported.
Treatment expenses
Hospital offers discount, patient's family incurs initial costs
Instead, the cancer care hospital offered a 50% discount on treatment costs, TOI quoted a family member as saying.
The patient's family had already spent ₹20,000 on initial scans and intended further chemotherapy sessions at the same hospital.
A family member revealed that while they were ready to pay for treatment, the patient was stressed by the unavailability of the promised benefit which may have led him to take his own life.
Scheme delay
Karnataka government acknowledges delays in scheme implementation
The Karnataka government has admitted it has delayed implementing the AB PM-JAY senior citizen health assurance scheme.
Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao said talks with the Centre are underway to resolve funding issues.
The state government is seeking clarifications from the Centre on funding details of this scheme, which is meant to provide ₹5 lakh insurance coverage for those aged 70 and above.
Server problems
Technical issues reported at BangaloreOne centers
Dr. Ravi Arjunan, director in-charge of KMIO, also told the newspaper that the senior citizen scheme had yet to be implemented and that directives on the matter were still pending.
Separately, technical issues have also been reported at BangaloreOne centers where applicants such as Muthu Vinayagam struggled to download their health cards due to server issues.
Staff at these centers have also reported receiving error messages while processing cards.