Free treatment for EWS patients: Govt quashes advisory to private hospitals to not accept income certificates

In the advisory issued on March 22, the Directorate General of the Health Services (DGHS) directed private hospitals “to avoid accepting income certificates” furnished by EWS patients to avail of free medical treatment.

Patients can now give an undertaking and avail free treatment. (Right) Express report on the advisory on March 22, 2017. Express Photo: Abhinav Saha

Two days after The Indian Express reported about the advisory issued by the AAP government, bringing in changes to the guidelines related to free medical treatment for economically weaker sections (EWS), the government has issued a new advisory asking hospitals to follow the old guidelines. Private hospitals have been asked to accept income certificates and to link eligibility of treatment to the prevailing minimum wages.

In the advisory issued on March 22, the Directorate General of the Health Services (DGHS) directed private hospitals “to avoid accepting income certificates” furnished by EWS patients to avail of free medical treatment, as directed by the Delhi High Court in 2007. The government has now told hospitals to “stick to the guidelines issued in 2011 and accept all categories of NFS cards to admit patients on free beds” as per the Delhi High Court order.

According to sources, a senior official of the health ministry has told private hospitals that even if the EWS patient “does not have a BPL (presently NFSC) or an income certificate”, the patient “can avail free treatment on the basis of an undertaking”. The official, sources said, has also directed hospitals to “verify the genuineness of poverty of such patient within 48 hours” of admission.

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“However, the identified private hospital concerned must continue providing treatment to the patient during the interim period. Any default by the hospital… is to be viewed seriously,” the senior official said.

In the old advisory, the government had told hospitals to “avoid accepting income certificate as far as possible as they are based on an affidavit filed by the individual and not on inquiry conducted by an SDM”.

The Indian Express had reported that as per the old advisory, “only PR-S category (those who are entitled to 1kg of rice/member ; 6 kg sugar/card and 4 kg wheat/member) and those who have Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) (the poorest of poor)” are the “EWS families” eligible for free treatment. The earlier order also did not mention linking eligibility of treatment to minimum wages, as mandated by the court. However, the fresh advisory clearly mentions that eligibility for free treatment under EWS category is “linked to the minimum wages of an unskilled worker”, and not just “restricted to those living below poverty line”.

With the revised advisory, the PR category, who were earlier left out, can also avail the free treatment. PR category are those who are entitled to 1 kg of rice/member and 4 kg of wheat/member. All families, whose monthly income is Rs 9,568 (minimum wages in Delhi), will also be directly eligible for free treatment”.

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The old advisory had created confusion, with complaints pouring in of patients being sent back for not having the NFS card.

Kaunain Sheriff M

Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies. With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health. His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award. Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time. Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More

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