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Journalism of Courage
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s clamp on the free medicine and diagnostics scheme has prompted a backlash not only from the opposition Congress, but also from healthcare experts and activists.
In her budget speech on July 14, Raje had called it an “excessive burden on government hospitals” and proposed to narrow the targeted beneficiaries by linking the scheme to food security cardholders.
Activists under the banner of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) on Monday held a massive protest rally leading up to the Assembly. They strongly denounced Raje’s decision and questioned why the Raje government has an adversarial stand on free medicine and diagnostics schemes when the NDA government at the Centre has already announced similar measures for the entire country.
Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot and former chief minister Ashok Gehlot also demanded the government to revoke its decision.
Activist Narendra Gupta said, “It is dangerous to link the health insurance with food security cardholders as this clearly indicates that the state government intends to appease private medical industry by promoting PPP and providing them unbridled access to public funds.”
Defending the government’s move, Principal Secretary (Finance) Subhash Garg told The Indian Express that the insurance scheme widens the ambit by involving private hospitals, too.
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