HC stays Jeevandayi Yojana

MUMBAI, April 30: The Bombay High Court today stayed Jeevandayi Yojana's implementation in 30-odd private hospitals, which have challenged i...

MUMBAI, April 30: The Bombay High Court today stayed Jeevandayi Yojana8217;s implementation in 30-odd private hospitals, which have challenged its validity. The scheme, introduced late last year, makes it mandatory for private hospitals to provide free surgical care to patients belonging to the weaker sections of the society.

The division bench of Chief Justice M B Shah and A Y Sakhare have admitted a petition filed by the Association of Hospitals, an umbrella organisation of disgruntled hospitals. The association has objected to the November 1997 government resolution which seeks priority in admission to private hospitals for patients from economically weaker sections suffering from disorders of the heart, kidney, brain and spinal cord. The resolution also specifies that such patients should be domiciled in Maharashtra and should also possess a yellow ration card.

Advocate Rafique Dada, who is representing the hospitals8217; association in the case, argued that the government resolution was violative ofhospitals8217; right to admit patients. He said private hospitals anyway reserve 10 per cent of their beds for poor patients as laid down under Section 41 AA of the Bombay Public Trust Act. If any more patients were given free treatment, Rafique Dada added, it would adversely affect the financial health of the hospitals.

Advocate General C J Sawant, however, rejected the petitioners8217; claim and alleged that the hospitals do not follow the guidelines laid down under the Bombay Public Trust Act.

The hospitals have also objected to the procedure involved in referring patients to them. As per the government resolution, patients below poverty line need to approach a district hospital, which in consultation with a competent reference committee, would refer them to a private hospital. The petitioners state that such reference system does not allow the private hospital to have a say in the matter and as such obstructs its functioning.

Sawant said the Jeevandayi scheme was an attempt on the government8217;s part to makehealth-care accessible to weaker sections of the society. He said though the government had identified four killer diseases whose treatment poor people could not afford, the scheme had provisions for other diseases also. He argued that the government, for obvious reasons, wanted the residents of the state to have access to affordable health care infrastructure and that there was no bias involved against people from other states. 8220;We are just laying down the parameters in which the private hospitals should function. We are not interfering in their routine work,8221; he said.