Thiruvananthapuram, April 2 Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Thursday claimed that Rajasthan has become a national leader in healthcare, while Kerala’s globally recognized public health system is declining due to the LDF government’s "misgovernance".
The former Rajasthan CM, who is in Kerala to campaign for the Congress-led UDF ahead of the Assembly polls on April 9, said the ‘Right to Health’ law and the ‘Chiranjeevi’ insurance scheme have transformed Rajasthan into a healthcare model for the rest of India.
Addressing a press conference at the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office, he said that while the ‘Rajasthan Model’ of healthcare under Congress rule has been successful, Kerala’s public health system “is now witnessing a decline due to the misgovernance of the Left government.”
Gehlot said the ‘Chiranjeevi’ scheme guarantees cashless treatment of up to Rs 25 lakh per family, along with an accident insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh, significantly reducing the financial burden on households facing serious illnesses.
He claimed that nearly 50 lakh patients have benefited so far, with free treatment worth around Rs 5,000 crore provided through a network of government and empanelled private hospitals.
The Congress-led UDF in Kerala has promised a similar insurance coverage in its manifesto, named after the late party leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
Gehlot said the ‘Chiranjeevi’ scheme covers a wide range of expensive procedures, including cancer care, cardiac surgeries, neurosurgeries, organ transplants, bone marrow transplants, and implants—all provided free of cost.
He added that patients also receive free medicines for up to five days before hospitalisation and up to 15 days after discharge, ensuring continuity of care. “Even those treated outside Rajasthan are reimbursed as per the scheme’s package rates,” he said.
Even essential diagnostic services such as MRI scans, CT scans, and X-rays are completely free, easing the burden on poor and middle-class families, Gehlot said.
He claimed that Rajasthan achieved 93 per cent insurance coverage under the scheme, far exceeding the national average of 42 per cent and outperforming several other states.
Gehlot also said the state became the first in India to enact a ‘Right to Health’ law, guaranteeing free emergency treatment for all individuals, including non-residents, for the first 24 hours, even in private hospitals.
He highlighted the ‘Nirogi Rajasthan’ initiative, under which medicines, diagnostics, and treatment were made entirely free in government hospitals, strengthening universal healthcare access.
Gehlot added that during Congress rule, hundreds of sub-centres, Primary Health Centres, and Community Health Centres were established, improving access to healthcare across Rajasthan.
He claimed that the state now has a higher availability of PHCs and CHCs per lakh population compared to Kerala, along with a substantial increase in hospital bed capacity and nearly threefold growth in ICU facilities.
These interventions, he said, have led to measurable improvements in health indicators, including institutional deliveries rising to 95 per cent, a sharp increase in vaccination coverage, and a notable decline in maternal and infant mortality rates, with the Infant Mortality Rate falling below the national average.
He also claimed that the initiative to establish medical colleges in every district, linked to existing district hospitals, was conceived during the UPA government’s tenure and implemented effectively in Rajasthan to strengthen future healthcare capacity.