A study on the utilization of Ayushman Bharat arogya scheme among patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital during Covid pandemic

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: In India, most of the households face financial hardships due to catastrophic health care expenses. In response to covid-19 pandemic, the government launched the Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka program, which offered health insurance for the coverage of covid-19 treatment costs and prevent families from undergoing financial hardships and incurring healthcare costs. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the utilization of the Ayushman Bharat insurance scheme among covid-19 positive and non-covid patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital in the Karnataka district of Dakshina Kannada.   Methodology: Data was collected from medical records of a tertiary care hospital in the Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka for this cross-sectional study. The data collected was analyzed using the Microsoft Excel program, and the results subjected to statistical analysis using IBM SPSS software ver.20.   Results: The study found that there was a significant association between utilization of ABArK among patients (Covid and non-Covid) admitted to the hospital. While the utilization of ABArK among covid patients was found to be 51.3%, the utilization among non-covid patients was only 14.1% (X2= 1242.32, p value <0.001).   Conclusion: To improve the utilization of this scheme, public awareness activities must be conducted. As a result, less out-of-pocket expenditure would be incurred and access to healthcare facilities made easier.