How Many Actually Availed BSKY: Odisha Health Minister Gives Confusing Numbers

In a reply to a number of the actual headcount of beneficiaries till date, the State Health Minister provided data on the number of times an individual availed Naveencare

Minister Gives Confusing Numbers

News Summary

As per the data available with Odisha Health Department, in the year 2020-21 alone, the hospitalisation cases in Odisha were a total of over 22.4 lakhs. The data further indicated that the number of OPD attendance in the State was over 5.17 crore. It also shows a total of over 4 per cent of OPD patients had gone for hospitalisation last year

NSSO report 'Health in India' reveals that the number of hospitalisations in Odisha during the year 2017-18 was over 13.5 lakh. The NSSO data also reports that over 76 per cent of hospitalisations in Odisha were due to chronic ailments.

A comparison shows a rise of over 9 lakh hospitalisations in Odisha during the last 3-years (2017-18 to 2020-21).

Even as the Odisha government claims that a whopping 92.5 lakh households in the State will be given smart cards under the flagship scheme, Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), the State health department seems to have no clue about the actual number of hospitalisations to date under the scheme.

Submitting a written reply in the State Assembly on Monday, Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das provided very sketchy details about the total hospitalisation taken place in the State under the flagship scheme touted as 'Naveencare'.