On the path to Universal Health Coverage: aligning ongoing health systems reforms in India

Addressing the rapid shifts in the health requirements of the citizens of India requires a fit-for-purpose health system to move towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The Government of India launched the Ayushman Bharat Programme in 2018, a potentially important step in this direction with two major components. First, primary healthcare improvements through investment in 150 000 Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs). Second, an insurance mechanism, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), which aims to cover hospital-level care in both public and private hospitals for over 100 million poor families. However, this latest reform to move India closer to UHC requires alignment between its component parts. In this editorial, we argue that the long-term success of this reform requires, in particular, greater alignment of service delivery, provider payment mechanisms and information systems.

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Shroff, Z. C., R. Marten, A. Ghaffar, K. Sheikh, H. Bekedam, M. Jhalani, and S. Swaminathan (2020) On the path to Universal Health Coverage: aligning ongoing health systems reforms in India. BMJ Global Health 2020;5:e003801. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003801