Study finds enrolling in Ayushman Bharat increased access to timely start of cancer treatment

NEW DELHI: Enrolling under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) — India’s national health insurance program — increased access to a timely initiation of cancer treatment by 33 per cent, a study has found.

Researchers, including those from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, also found that under the scheme, patients diagnosed with cancer after 2018, when the program was launched, were at a 36 per cent higher chance of a timely initiation of treatment within 30 days, compared to those diagnosed between 1995 and 2017.

The findings, published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia, showed a “significant improvement in timely initiation of cancer treatment as a result of introduction of PM-JAY”.

Source: PTI News

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