Srinagar, Aug. 6 -- Despite the promise of universal health coverage through schemes like Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY SEHAT, the ground truth is grim. Medicines are growing costlier, private healthcare is unaffordable, and government hospitals are buckling under the pressure of too many patients and too few doctors. For a region already reeling under an unemployment crisis, the burden of medical costs is quietly breaking families.

One reason for this is the understaffed healthcare department, forcing people to visit private health institutions for treatment, which burns a hole in their pocket. According to figures, nearly half the sanctioned posts for rural medical officers remain vacant. Specialist doctors are missing from community health c...