Union health ministry starts empaneling hospitals for Modicare.

National Health Agency, the apex body to launch Modicare, says the state health agencies will start empanelling private and public healthcare service providers and facilities in states and union territories.

Moving a step closer to launching the Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (NHPM), popularly known as “Modicare”, the union health ministry on Wednesday started the process of empanelling public and private hospitals for the scheme.

State health agencies (SHAs) through state empanelment committees (SECs) will start empanelling private and public healthcare service providers and facilities in states and union territories (UTs) according to the given guidelines, said the National Health Agency (NHA), the apex body to launch Modicare.

District, sub-district and block level workshops will be held to brief hospitals about the empanelment criteria, packages, and processes and address any queries. “We have invited all private and super-speciality hospitals across India for empanelment as they play a critical and indispensable role in this mission. We are also trying to ensure that the empanelment process is conducted in a transparent, time-bound and non-partisan manner based on specific criteria, eligibility and guidelines,” said Dinesh Arora, deputy chief executive officer, Ayushman Bharat.

“Under Ayushman Bharat, both public and private healthcare systems will get strengthened and work in partnership to provide accessible and equitable healthcare services to all entitled beneficiaries,” he said.

The SHAs shall ensure empanelment within stipulated timelines for quick implementation if the applicants meet the essential criteria as defined for general or specialty care facilities. Facilities undertaking defined specialty packages are required to fulfil additional eligibility requirements. Specific criteria are outlined for cardiology and cardio-thoracic vascular services, cancer care, neurosurgery, burns, plastic and reconstructive surgery, neonatal/paediatric surgery, polytrauma, nephrology and urology surgery.

“The aim is to provide financial protection to 10.74 crore deprived rural families and identified occupational categories of urban workers’ families according to the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data,” said Arora.

Modicare, touted as the world’s largest health insurance scheme, aims to provide free health insurance of ₹5 lakh per family to nearly 40% of the population, or more than 100 million poor and vulnerable families.

More than 22 states have signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) with the union health ministry, committing to launch Modicare. (Source: Livemint)