Kaisar Ahmad Malla
In Kashmir, illness is not just a health concern, it is a household crisis. Every diagnosis comes with a weight that few families are truly prepared to carry. The burden is not just in the body, but in the heart, the home and the pocket. For many, the cost of staying alive quietly chips away at every layer of stability.
My own grand uncle was one such silent sufferer. Diagnosed with cancer in his late 60s,he traveled from one hospital to another, hoping for a cure or at least a little comfort. He never complained about the pain, only about the helplessness he felt watching his family struggle to arrange money. Chemotherapy sessions came with bills that seemed endless. To continue treatment, he had to sell the land he once tilled with his own hands. The land that fed his family became the price of a few more months of life and when the end came, it left not only grief but also debt behind.
Stories like his are not rare in Kashmir. With a growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, kidney failure, heart disease and diabetes, families across the region are quietly drowning in the cost of long-term medical care. These illnesses do not end with a one-time surgery or a few days of treatment, they come with years of management, repeated diagnostics, costly medicines and frequent travel to cities where specialized care is available.
For patients living in rural areas, the nearest dialysis center or oncology department may be several hours away. The physical toll of travel is exhausting, but it is the financial toll that truly breaks families. A cancer patient may receive chemotherapy for free at a government hospital but diagnostic scans or supportive medications often have to be arranged from private labs or pharmacies, where costs add up quickly. When you are poor, even Rs 500 for a scan or Rs 1000 for an injection becomes a mountain too high to climb.
Yet, in recent years, the winds of change have begun to blow. The government’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) has emerged as a life-saving intervention for lakhs of people across Jammu and Kashmir. Under this scheme, entitled families receive free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh per year in empanelled government and private hospitals. For patients who previously saw hospitals as distant and unaffordable places, PM-JAY has opened doors that once felt permanently closed.
In Kashmir, where distances and incomes have always been a barrier, this scheme is giving people not just treatment, but dignity. Patients with heart disease are receiving surgeries, cancer patients are getting chemotherapy and dialysis is now being offered free of cost to those enrolled under the scheme. In many cases, even the most advanced treatments, once only available to the wealthy have become accessible to the common man.
While there is still a long journey ahead, it is important to recognize the serious efforts being made by the government to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in the region. New medical colleges have been sanctioned and upgraded and hospitals are being equipped with sophisticated diagnostic machines like CT scanners, MRI machines and advanced cardiology and pathology labs. This not only reduces the cost of diagnosis for patients but also saves them from having to travel to faraway cities for basic tests. The improvement in healthcare facilities, especially in district hospitals, is a step toward bridging the gap between the rich and the poor, the urban and the rural.
We must also applaud the health authorities and frontline staff who continue to work tirelessly in difficult conditions. The expansion of services, installation of modern equipment and the overall enhancement of government hospitals are making a real difference in the lives of ordinary people. At the same time, this is also a moment to reflect on the importance of health insurance, not just as a policy document, but as a safety net. Too often, we see families waiting for disaster to strike before seeking protection. Health insurance, whether provided by the government or purchased privately, can help prevent the complete collapse of a household’s financial security during illness.
A striking portrayal of this reality was recently brought to light in the movie Signature (earlier titled Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai).In one of its most powerful moments, a helpless father breaks down as he is told that his wife needs urgent treatment, but he simply cannot afford it. That one scene reflects what so many Kashmiri families experience in silence, the helplessness of watching a loved one suffer because the treatment costs more than they can ever hope to pay. The film powerfully underscores how health insurance is not a luxury, but a necessity, and how medical emergencies can shatter not just health but entire lives.
When a family is covered by a health policy, the worry of arranging lakhs of rupees in a medical emergency is replaced by confidence and dignity. It allows the patient to focus on healing instead of wondering where the next payment will come from. In addition to PM-JAY, the government has also introduced other beneficial insurance schemes like the Employees State Insurance Scheme (ESIS) for formal workers and Universal Health Coverage under AB-PMJAY SEHAT specially extended to all residents of Jammu and Kashmir, regardless of income. These policies are steps in the right direction and need to be embraced more widely.
Going forward, it would be meaningful to invest further in localizing care for instance, by increasing the number of dialysis units in remote districts or by establishing cancer support centers closer to home .This would reduce not just financial hardship, but also emotional strain on families who otherwise travel long distances with ailing loved ones.
Today, healthcare in Kashmir is at a turning point. We have witnessed the pain of the past, but we are also beginning to see the hope of what is possible when policy meets compassion. The challenge of disease is far from over, but with thoughtful governance, committed investment and the continued strengthening of schemes like PM-JAY, we can ensure that no family in Kashmir is ever forced to choose between treatment and survival.
Let us work toward a future where treatment heals not just the body, but also protects the soul of a family, its dignity, its land and its peace.
(The author is staff nurse at GMC Baramulla. He can be reached at [email protected])
