Why Isn’t Ayushman Bharat Covering This 11-year-old’s Cancer Treatment?

Shaurya Thakur is a pre-teen with bone cancer. He’s lost his leg to the disease but not his spirit. The 11-year-old was diagnosed in July, this year, after a leg fracture alerted doctors to his weak skeletal frame.

Dr. Rahul Rao, the senior medical superintendent of IGMC, confirmed Shaurya’s diagnosis of osteosarcoma, a cancer that starts in bone cells. It typically affects the long bones of the arms and legs, especially near the joints. 

After two surgeries and three rounds of biopsies, Class VII student from Bilaspur, on October 1, Shaurya was admitted to Government Cancer Hospital, IGMC Shimla, and on October 4, his leg was amputated.

Insurance Won’t Cover Cancer Treatment

While Shaurya’s is a story of courage, resilience, and an extraordinary dream, it also highlights something that shocked even his doctors: Neither Shaurya’s Ayushman Bharat card, which entitles eligible families to cashless healthcare benefits of up to Rs five lakh, nor the state government’s Himcare scheme, offering a similar coverage limit, covered his treatments.

“I…I’ve already spent nearly Rs 1.5 lakh on Shaurya’s treatment at AIIMS Bilaspur and IGMC’s cancer hospital in Shimla,” he says.

He adds: “The hospital medical store refused to issue medicines without payment. The day my child’s leg was amputated, doctors asked for an injection costing Rs 8,000. I told them I was penniless—I had no means to buy that single injection.

At this, when contacted, Dr Rahul Rao says, “We inquired into this. That day, particularly the medicine recommended by the doctors was not in stock. It’s a costly drug/injection that gets procured only on demand”.

Doctors Worried About Non-Availability Of Medicines Under Ayushman Scheme

Yet, he admits, the non-availability of free medicines under the Ayushman scheme — an issue that has deeply worried the hospital administration. “Actually, there is a huge backlog of payments to the Jan Aushadhi store and even several private pharmacies. The government’s fund crunch has delayed the clearance of these bills and the release of payments. As a result, the stores have stopped supplying medicines to patients using Jan Aushadhi cards,” he explains.

Dr Rao also cites an example that bills amounting to Rs 40 crore are pending for the Jan Aushadhi stores at IGMC Shimla, of which only Rs 3 crore could be released this week — and that too after a lot of effort.

While Shaurya continues to dream of wearing an army uniform and returning to school to complete his studies, his mother looks exhausted and worried for her child’s future. Sitting beside his hospital bed, his mother Veena Kumari, 36, turns her face away to hide her tears. The child, though, senses her breaking down. Softly, he says: “I'll soon be back home and at school again. Didn’t the doctor tell us my recovery is good?’ He adds: “And if your heart breaks enough to cry, hide those tears—I shouldn’t see them.”

He recounts it all with clarity—the dates of each surgery, the procedures he had undergone, and finally the amputation of his leg above the knee, a decision taken by the cancer specialists to save his life.

When insurance didn’t pan out, doctors advised him to seek help from an NGO. 

A Little Help From A Good Samaritan

Sarabjit Singh Bobby, a well-known philanthropist who also runs a free langar service at the cancer hospital and had recently assisted disaster-hit families in Seraj (Mandi) and Kullu, stepped forward and arranged the costly injection.

A few more people have stepped in to help Shaurya this week.

Learning about the child’s condition and his family’s distress, Amarjit Singh Raina, a Shimla-based social activist, rushed to the hospital, met the doctors, and then visited little Shaurya. Deeply moved by the boy’s pain and indomitable spirit, he handed over a cheque of Rs 50,000 to Shaurya’s father, Rajesh Kumar. 

“If you need anything more, or any other help, please feel free to reach out to me,” he was heard telling the father gently.

Dr Manish Gupta, Head of Department at the Government Cancer Hospital, admits that several essential cancer-care medicines are not available at the hospital’s privately run medical stores—and even their availability isn’t confirmed. 

“These medicines are extremely costly,” he says. “As a result, many poor patients from rural and remote areas, when unable to procure them, quietly return home and give up treatment. We often feel helpless—the system is simply not designed to support those who need it the most.” He regrets.

Standing outside Shaurya’s recovery ward, Rajesh Kumar says he never imagined his child would face such an ordeal at such a tender age. Both his teachers and classmates have always admired Shaurya. He consistently topped his class, and his friends are sending messages every day, asking how he’s doing,” he adds softly.

Just moments earlier, Rajesh Kumar had carried Shaurya in his arms for an ultrasound examination, gently lifting him in his arms as he walked the short distance from the cancer hospital block to the main IGMC building.

‘This is the age when a child should be memorising school syllabi, lessons, and homework, but Shaurya reels off the dates of his surgeries and amputation since July 14,’ says Udaybir Pathania, the media professional who first reported on the agonising journey of his parents and their little son.

Sadly, neither the state’s health agency nor the officials of the Union Health Ministry—headed by J P Nadda, who also hails from Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh)—have yet inquired about this teenage patient, who will need hospitalisation and also more chemotherapy sessions. 

Shaurya’s story of resilience and courage touches every heart that crosses his path. He meets pain with a smile and holds on to hope despite the weary faces of his parents. “Barely past childhood, he has endured what most never do—an amputation above the knee—yet he stands tall with the courage of a mountain,” says Minakshi Chaudhary, a young journalist-cum-writer, herself a cancer survivor. 

Now, she proposes sending him a copy of her book, “Sunshine,” a heartfelt account of her battle with cancer.