Andhra Pradesh has topped the country in terms of the Percentage of households (at least one family member) covered under any Health scheme or health Insurance, according to the recent Niti Aayogs SDG India Index 2020-21.
While the all-India Average is 29%, the coverage of any health scheme/insurance in Andhra Pradesh is 74.6%. Chhattisgarh has 68.5% coverage, taking the second place. About 66.4% of the households in have access to some form of health insurance or health scheme.
The provision of some form of universal health coverage is regarded as a basic component of social security. The SDG (Sustainable Development goals) target stipulates universal health coverage. Creating an access to affordable and indiscriminate health Services is key to providing UHC. Ideally, patients should be in a position to avail of the health services through a prepayment mechanism or tax revenues, but not necessarily free of cost.
Among all the state and central health schemes, the Aarogyasri scheme has remained the mainstay in Andhra Pradesh. According to the official statistics, about 95 percent of the families in the state are benefiting from this flagship health scheme with the enhancement of the annual income limit to Rs 5 lakh.