Govt cracks whip on charitable hospitals
Plans their online monitoring so that the poor get affordable medical services.
Admitting that charitable hospitals flout norms despite monitoring,the Maharashtra government will now set up and maintain an online real-time database in all such hospitals to make sure the indigent and economically backward citizens can avail of affordable medical services.
Having issued a Government Resolution to this effect on October 22,the government will spend on setting up computer hardware and employ one ‘Aarogya Mitra’,under the Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayi Aarogya Yojana Society,in each of the 79 charitable hospitals in Mumbai.
Health Minister Suresh Shetty said the decision was taken because many charitable hospitals were getting away without offering services to the poor. The monitoring system will soon be extended to charitable hospitals across the state.
“This way,an online database will be available for putting out exact real-time information into public domain on how many beds are currently reserved for the poor in each of these hospitals,how many are occupied and how many are vacant. The Aarogya Mitras stationed at the hospital will find out details of available beds and direct eligible patients to these hospitals as per availability of beds,” Shetty said.
Hospitals run by trusts registered with the charity commissioner that have annual expenditures exceeding Rs 5 lakh are termed charitable. At least 79 charitable hospitals in Mumbai get various benefits from the government such as land,electricity at subsidised rates,concessions on import duty and income tax.
In return,they have to reserve 10 per cent of their sanctioned operational beds for indigent patients (those with income less than Rs 50,000 per annum) and provide them services free,reserve an additional 10 per cent for economically weaker sections (family income between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh per annum) and bill them the lowest amount.
These rules were laid down by the Bombay High Court in 2004.
Following the first inspection in January this year after complaints of non-compliance,many hospitals were found submitting forged bills for surgeries that were never performed. Others were found catering to relatives of staff or to a particular community and calling it charity.
Last week,a letter by charity commissioner to law and judiciary department called for action against three such hospitals for repeated non-compliance.
Since the state started implementing the RGJAY scheme across the state almost two years ago,more than 1 lakh procedures (surgeries,therapies,treatment etc) have been carried out under it so far. A total of Rs 198.26 crore have been paid to them as reimbursement for the same.
The largest portion of this total amount has been spent on cardiology,cardiac and cardio-thoracic surgery,amounting to Rs 91.65 crore.
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