The Telangana government is inching closer to regulating private health sector by adopting a Central Act, for which amendments are being worked out. A draft bill is likely to be placed before the government by the budget session, those in the know say.
Continued deliberations
The State government adopted the Clinical Establishments Act, 2010, last March, but has not implemented it by framing rules.
Though senior officials of the Health Department have claimed rules-framing is under way, the government has not put into action the act owing to opposition from private doctors to the Central Act in its original form. The State agreed to consider the suggestions from the medical fraternity.
A committee set up in October last year and later reconstituted in December, met the doctors represented by the Indian Medical Association, in December.
During the meeting, doctors strongly expressed disagreements with the Central Act in its present form.
“Among many things, the Central Act would make healthcare disbursal in rural areas nearly impossible, given the gap between the Act’s stricture on qualifications and the availability of personnel on the ground,” said A. Narasinga Reddy, President of IMA’s chapter in Telangana.
Pricing, relaxations of minimum requirements for hospitals in far-flung areas and relaxation of norms for buildings are some of the other demands. The medical community is also demanding incentives for health institutions in rural areas to promote healthcare, Dr. Reddy added.
The seven-year-old act’s implementation drew attention during the recently concluded winter session of Parliament.
Clearing lacunae
Health Minister J.P. Nadda pointed out that only ten States and union territories have put the Act into place. The lack of an Act to regulate private healthcare often becomes a subject of discussions when cases of medical negligence or inordinate pricing get reported.
Suggestions propounded by the medical fraternity are expected to be discussed at the second meeting that the government-appointed committee is expected to hold later this month.
“Government’s reconstituted committee is soon going to meet all the members again. Now that we have received inputs from various quarters, we hope to place the draft act before the government in a month or so,” said Dr. K. Ramesh Reddy, Director of Medical Education, who is chairing the committee.
