Five states in the country -- with four of them in Southern India -- accounted for over half the hospitalisations under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, according to a Moneycontrol analysis.
The analysis showed that the richer states received a larger share of hospitalisations under the programme than poorer ones.
Ayushman Bharat is the government’s flagship healthcare scheme, providing Rs 5 lakh insurance coverage to each cardholder's family.
While Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar accounted for over a third of the cards issued under the scheme, their share in hospitalisations was just 11.8 percent.
In contrast, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which had only a 7 percent share in card issuances, accounted for 26.5 percent of the hospitalisations under the scheme.
North-South divide
There is also a clear north-south divide regarding scheme uptake. The more populous northern states had just 28.8 percent share in overall hospitalisations under the scheme, while southern states accounted for 46 percent hospitalisations.
Among the southern states, Andhra Pradesh, which has as many people as Haryana had four times higher hospitalisations.
At 15.3 percent, Tamil Nadu's share of hospitalisations had as many people availing of benefits under the scheme as the entire northeast and eastern region combined.
Odisha, West Bengal, and Delhi have yet to join the scheme.
Higher uptake
Analysis shows that Ayushman Bharat’s popularity has not waned despite the scheme being in operation for six years.
Card issuances were up 42 percent at 354.9 million until September 23, compared with the previous year. Hospitalisations were also 19.9 percent higher during this period.
The government’s spending on the scheme has also received a fillip. Spending under the scheme rose at a compounded annual growth rate of 25.8 percent between FY24 and FY17.
In FY25, the government plans to spend Rs 7,300 crore on the programme, a 6 percent increase over the revised estimates of FY24.
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