Karnataka health minister urges Centre to increase beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat Jan Arogya scheme

Dinesh Gundu Rao addressed several recommendations and sought interventions by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in a letter to union health minister JP Nadda.

Bengaluru: Karnataka health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Wednesday requested the Centre to increase the number of beneficiaries under the Ayushman Bharat Jan Arogya scheme.

Gundu Rao addressed several recommendations and sought interventions by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in a letter to union health minister JP Nadda after meeting him at the latter's office in New Delhi on Wednesday.

He noted that while the state has 1.15 crore BPL card holders, only 69 lakh will be eligible for this scheme currently.

Highlighting the issue of inadequate supply and shortage of anti-TB drugs from the Centre, Gundu Rao requested Nadda to streamline the supply for at least the first line treatment.

The World Health Organization recommends a four-drug fixed-dise combination for tuberculosis, which consists of 150 mg of rifampicin, 75 mg of isoniazid, 400 mg of pyrazinamide and 275 mg of ethambutol. Earlier this year, Gundu Rao wrote to the Centre about the erratic supply of drugs, requesting urgent supply.

He requested the Ministry to expedite several proposals, including the administrative approval of Rs 559.18 crore under the 15th Finance Commission and the reallocation of Rs 277.17 crore under the National Health Mission. He also requested that the compensation for the loss of daily wages for caretakers of malnourished children admitted to nutrition rehabilitation centres be increased to wage standards according to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Additionally, he also requested the recategorizing psychotropic drugs as Schedule X (prescription drugs with high potential of abuse/addiction) instead of Schedule H1 and requested the Ministry to set up a Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation lab in Karnataka.

Other recommendations made

*Consider including maintenance charges of oxygen generation plants under PM CARES
*Early launch of accident victim scheme in coordination with Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
*Expedite action plan sent by state food safety commissioner and clearance for the proposal to increase salaries for doctors and staff nurses under NHM
*Intervene in the Supreme Court case regarding the appointment of drug inspectors to the Drugs Control Department.
*Expert support for new command and control centre for 108 ambulances