Since its inception in 2018 till August, 2023, Karnataka has treated 35 lakh women (55%) of the total 63.17 lakh beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka (AB-ArK) health scheme. This is the highest in the country and Karnataka has been presented with the Gender Equity in service delivery (among large States) award by the National Health Authority recently.
An analysis of data collated by Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST), the nodal agency that implements the State’s health schemes, revealed that caesarean delivery, conventional tubectomy, acute febrile illness, acute gastroenteritis with moderate dehydration and severe anaemia are the top five ailments/ procedures that women sought treatment for.
Far above average
While the national average of women beneficiaries under the scheme is 48%, Karnataka’s coverage is 55%, the highest in the country among large States.
State Health Commissioner Randeep D. said the figures indicate that the services are provided to beneficiaries without any gender disparity. “We have also been recognised for the highest percentage of utilisation in public hospitals (among large States). Besides, with 3,472 (government 2,942 and private 530) hospitals, Karnataka also has the highest number of Empanelled Health Care Providers (EHCPs) under the scheme among large States. “Karnataka is the only State with a nearly equal contribution from the public and private sectors, demonstrating the effectiveness of the State’s public health system,” the Commissioner told The Hindu.
The recognition awards were presented during the two-day Arogya Manthan in New Delhi on September 25.
North Karnataka districts
Since inception, 55.98 lakh cases have been treated in government hospitals and 7.19 lakh cases in private facilities. The highest number of female beneficiaries under the scheme are from the backward districts of North Karnataka - Koppal, Raichur, Kalaburgi, Yadgir and Vijayanagara, where the access to private facilities is limited.
Districts such as Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru, Bengaluru Urban, Udupi, and Bengaluru Rural have the least women beneficiaries under the scheme as these districts have a large network of private hospitals.
Rise in scheme utilisation
The State has also been appreciated for full utilisation of allocated funds. Over the years, the scheme utilisation has increased steadily. “The central share is 36% and the State contributes 64% of the share for inclusion of all BPL families of non-Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) database and APL families. From 67,776 beneficiaries in 2018, the number has gone up to 21,94,061 in 2022-2023. This year till August, the number of beneficiaries has already touched 13,38,567. In total, 63.17 lakh cases have been treated under the scheme in the last five years,” the commissioner said.
SAST Executive Director Vinoth Priya said the State has made several efforts to encourage public facilities in providing services such as ring fencing mechanism (no direct walk in to private hospitals except for 171 emergency procedures), online referral system through government facilities, involving Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to provide simple service packages and deemed empanelment of government facilities.
