Refusing to implement Ayushman Bharat, the Odisha government has said its flagship Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) has recorded a growth rate of 413 per cent in the number of patients provided cashless super speciality and critical treatment in private sector hospitals.

The state government said this five days after Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s appealed to the state for implementation of the central scheme.

“Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), the innovative health care mission of chief minister Naveen Patnaik recorded a growth rate of 413 per cent in the number of patients provided cashless super speciality and critical treatment in private sector hospitals,” said a statement released from the chief secretary’s office.

Odisha’s health minister Naba Das said: “Our own BSKY is far superior to any other scheme. We have tied up with institutions of national importance. More and more people are opting for the BSKY”

According to state government officials, in 2021 around 1.26 lakh patients were provided cashless critical and super-speciality treatment under the BSKY in different private hospitals which crossed 6.45 lakh in 2022, thereby recording a growth of 413 per cent.