Pacemaker under health schemes
An appeal, signed by 50-odd cardiologists from private hospitals, detailed the reasons for the need of raising the device rate allowed under Ayushman Bharat. A hospital official pointed out that under the central health ministry scheme, the cost of a pacemaker was capped at Rs 75,000 and that of the procedure Rs 33,000. Under Swasthya Sathi, the package allowed to private hospitals was Rs 1.6 lakh for a pacemaker and Rs 30,000 for the implant procedure. Another hospital official said under Ayushman Bharat, the cost of a pacemaker had remained the same at Rs 75,000 since the central health scheme was launched in 2018, when 1 USD was equal to around Rs 60. But despite the depreciation of the Indian Rupee, which was now above Rs 96 against 1 USD, the rate allowed for a pacemaker under Ayushman Bharat was still the same.
This rate, the official said, was way less than what was offered by Swasthya Sathi, the health scheme launched by the earlier Trinamool govt and was now being phased out. Kolkata: Within one and a half months of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY (ABPMJAY) roll-out in Bengal, pacemaker surgery under the health scheme has hit a roadblock, with most private hospitals asking for a revised rate for the device and procedure. Cardiologists across various private hospitals in Kolkata have approached the state health department as well as the health ministry, seeking a rate revision under Ayushman Bharat to make the pacemaker surgery package practical and at the same time, ensure quality treatment.