The southern region of India is demonstrating remarkable performance under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), as four of the top five states with the highest hospital admissions belong to this region. Tamil Nadu tops the chart with 9.05 million admissions since the scheme’s launch in 2018. Karnataka follows with 6.6 million admissions, while Rajasthan (5.74 million) stands third. Kerala (5.46 million) and Andhra Pradesh (4.96 million) occupy the fourth and fifth positions, respectively, based on data from the PMJAY dashboard.
This dominance in hospital admissions, however, does not align with the region’s performance in Ayushman card generation. Karnataka has issued 17.5 million cards, placing it eighth nationwide, while Andhra Pradesh stands tenth with 15.6 million cards. Telangana, which enrolled in the scheme in 2021, has distributed 8.29 million cards, surpassing Kerala (7.7 million) and Tamil Nadu (7.54 million).
Despite Tamil Nadu and Kerala showing a decline in admissions over the past three years, other southern states have experienced steady growth in this regard. Tamil Nadu’s authorized admissions dropped from 4.39 million in FY22 to 1.05 million in FY24. Kerala reported a decline from 1.69 million to 1.07 million admissions over the same period. In contrast, admissions in Karnataka rose sharply from 1.08 million in FY22 to 3.21 million in FY24. Similarly, Andhra Pradesh saw an increase from 1.13 million to 1.84 million, and Telangana’s admissions grew from 323,421 to 618,497 in FY24.
Interestingly, the trend of high card issuance with low hospitalization persists in several states. Uttar Pradesh, which leads with 51 million Ayushman cards, recorded only 2.8 million admissions. Similarly, Madhya Pradesh, with 40.2 million cards, reported just 3.35 million admissions, and Bihar, despite issuing 35.6 million cards, saw only 778,000 admissions. Bihar reintroduced the scheme in March 2024 under a new name after a three-year hiatus, which may explain its low participation. However, no official explanations have been provided for the limited hospitalizations in other high card-generating states.
According to the National Health Authority (NHA), over 356 million individuals have received Ayushman cards, enabling them to access free health insurance benefits worth ₹5 lakh for secondary and tertiary hospital care. So far, more than 68 million hospitalizations amounting to ₹90,204 crore have been covered under the scheme.
The AB-PMJAY, the world’s largest publicly funded health assurance program, was launched in 2018 to provide healthcare coverage to approximately 550 million people or 123.4 million families. Eligibility for the scheme is determined using deprivation and occupational data from the 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC). The scheme has since expanded to include ASHA and Anganwadi workers, as well as all citizens aged 70 years and above.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Ankur Deka)
