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.