A study on the utilisation of Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka (ABArK) among COVID patients admitted in a Tertiary Care Hospital.

BACKGROUND

Out of pocket and catastrophic healthcare expenditures are leading households to financial hardships in India. The covid-19 pandemic has further added up in the loss of jobs, savings, and lives. The inclusion of covid-19 treatments in health insurance schemes like Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka by the Government has helped families from financial hardships and catastrophic healthcare expenditures.

OBJECTIVES

To estimate the utilization of the Ayushman Bharat insurance scheme among covid-19 positive patients in a tertiary care hospital, Dakshina Kannada District.

METHODOLOGY

It was a record-based, cross-sectional study. The study was conducted by collecting data from the hospital medical records department by taking prior permission at a Tertiary Care Hospital of Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka. The data was collected and entered into an excel sheet, analyzed, and presented in percentage in the tabular form.

RESULTS

In the present study total 1367 covid-19 positive cases were admitted. Majority of the patients were from Karnataka accounting for 93.92%. The eligible subjects for ABArK were 906 (66.27%), Out of which 714 (78.8%) had utilized the scheme. Among the 714 patients who utilized the ABArK scheme 443 (62.04%) were men and 271 (37.95%) were women.

CONCLUSION

The utilization of this scheme requires further improvement by creating awareness activities among general public. This helps in reducing the out-of-pocket expenditure and burden in accessing the healthcare facility.