Karunya Arogya scheme: Kerala blames financial woes for not switching to new health package

Kottayam: Kerala has informed that it could not shift to the rates revised under the Health Benefits Package, 2022, for Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP), the state government’s healthcare scheme implemented in partnership with the centre’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). 

Previously, at the request of private hospitals in Kerala, the High Court urged the state to consider revising treatment charges by migrating to the Health Benefits Package (HBP), which the Centre accepted in 2022. 

In response to the High Court, the Principal Secretary (Health) issued an order claiming that the state's ability to switch to updated HBP is limited due to the ongoing financial crisis. However, it agreed to consider the matter if the Centre increased financial assistance to the state. 

Kerala is the only state that continues to follow rates as per the Health Benefits Packages 2.0 from 2020, which provides fewer benefits to empanelled hospitals and beneficiaries than the HBP 2022. 

The new version has added 365 new procedures taking the total package count to 1949. With HBP 2022, differential pricing is being introduced for the first time under the scheme based upon the type of city and level of care.

Meanwhile, the revised package from 2022 guarantees a patient Rs 2100 for a day's treatment compared to Rs 750 received by the beneficiary. There are also differences in the speciality treatments.

Presently, there are 43 lakh beneficiaries under Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi in Kerala. Meanwhile, it is estimated that the state owes around Rs 400 crores in arrears to around 300 KASP-empanelled private hospitals and Rs 850 crores to government hospitals.