Approval of Ayushman Bharat in the very first cabinet meeting of the newly formed government in West Bengal is not merely a fulfilment of an electoral promise, but much more. The major shift clearly signals towards convergence of the state with the national mainstream and alignment of healthcare delivery more closely with the national health financing and governance framework.

West Bengal stands at a defining moment of a health care system crisis. After years of institutional decay, fragile healthcare, poor outreach, fragmented recruitment system, governance failure, political misadventure, corruption, unregulated middlemen (“touts”), we ak accountability, and erosion of public trust, the challenge before the new government is to rebuild its credibility from the ground up. A functioning health system must guarantee equitable access, organizational discipline and efficient resource allocation. West Bengal has progressively weakened across all these dimensions.

With a population of nearly 99 million, one of the highest population densities in India, and substantial rural and vulnerable populations requiring equitable access to healthcare, the challenge is enormous. Reform in the health sector is high on the agenda of the new Government. A couple of days after assuming office, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari discussed with health officials immediate measures like real-time monitoring of bed availability across government hospitals, ensuring zero patient refusal, institutional........

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