Covid-19 patients seeking medical care either under the state government or the civic body’s health schemes are complaining about not being informed about the treatment expenses at designated private hospitals.
At present, a beneficiary gets free-of-cost treatment of up to Rs2 lakh for himself/herself or a registered family member under the state and PMC-supported health schemes for Covid-19.
Poornima Chikarmane of Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat, a union of waste-pickers, said, “Quite a few of our members didn’t get the itemised bills of treatment sought under the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) health scheme at the empanelled private hospitals. This has led to confusion and distrust among them.”
Health activist and medical practitioner Abhijit More said, “I have also come across quite a few families with instances of the treating private hospitals not provided the bill receipt for Covid-19 care sought under either the state or the PMC-sponsored health scheme. We have brought this to the notice of the PMC’s health department, but nothing has happened so far.”
Health schemes such as the Maharashtra government’s Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana and the PMC’s Urban Poor Health Scheme are operating on the floater basis for each family. For example, the first scheme provides health insurance to the tune of Rs1.5 lakh per year per household. Similarly, the PMC scheme provides insurance cover for Rs2 lakh per family per year.
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Sanjay Pathare, medical director of Ruby Hall Clinic, one of the empanelled hospitals for the state and PMC schemes, said, “As far as Ruby Hall Clinic is concerned, we are giving all the details of treatment along with the bills for treatment expenses to all the patients, irrespective of whether the patients settle the bills directly or the same gets settled or reimbursed by a third party insurance or state government and the PMC. All Covid-19 treatment bills are duly audited and certified by the PMC auditors stationed in the designated hospitals.”
PMC health department chief Ramchandra Hankare said, “Every beneficiary should know about the expenses incurred under the scheme. We will look into the matter.”
Source: Times of India
