Bihar Health Minister Vows Free Medical Services, Sets Ambitious Ayushman Card Target

Patna: Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey convened an extensive meeting with officials from the Health Department, the State Health Committee, and the Bihar Health Security Committee in the Health Department Auditorium. The minister’s primary focus was on assessing the availability of medicines in health institutions, aiming to alleviate the financial burden of healthcare on the state’s residents.

Pandey emphasized the government’s commitment to providing free medical services and medicines to the people of Bihar. “We are determined to ensure that all medical services and medicines are available free of charge to our citizens,” he stated.

In a significant initiative, Pandey set an ambitious goal of issuing one crore Ayushman Bharat cards within a month. These cards enable the state’s impoverished residents to receive up to five lakh rupees of free treatment annually at any hospital affiliated with the Ayushman Bharat scheme across India. “With the Ayushman card, the poor will no longer have to spend five lakh rupees per year out of pocket for serious illnesses,” Pandey said.

The meeting also addressed the supply and distribution of medicines in government hospitals. The minister directed that the rate contracts for all 600 essential medicines be finalized by July 31. Despite multiple tenders, 80 medicines from the essential list had not yet secured rate contracts. Consequently, the 60 Technical Core Committee was instructed to review these medicines for their usage and consumption to determine if they should remain on the list.

Pandey stressed the importance of ensuring a continuous supply of EGDAL medicines in all government hospitals, guaranteeing that all prescribed medicines are available to patients. “We must improve the supply chain of medicines in our health institutions,” he asserted, noting that Bihar currently ranks third in the country in this regard. He urged the State Health Committee to strive for the top position.

Key officials present at the meeting included Additional Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit, Health Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh, Executive Director of the State Health Committee Suharsh Bhagat, Managing Director of BMICL Dharmendra Singh, Special Secretary Shashank Shekhar Sinha, Executive Director of the AYUSH Committee Anil Kumar, Additional Secretary Shailesh Kumar, Private Secretary to the Minister Amitabh Singh, Special Officer Renu Kumari, and Administrative Officer Rajesh Kumar.