First, prepare

Where is the infrastructure for universal health care?

India may soon see the formal announcement of the Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission, perhaps in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech. At least six states are prepared to roll out a pilot of the new health care scheme. Little, however, is known as yet about the details. While it was earlier assumed that it would be an insurance-based mechanism, it seems there will be greater state involvement in the administration of Ayushman Bharat, perhaps through a trust-based system or some hybrid private-public approach. Individual states are likely to take different views on the mechanism most appropriate for