The Tamil Nadu government must consider including laparoscopic hernia surgery under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme and allow private hospitals too to perform the procedure, said C. Palanivelu, founder and chairman, GEM Hospitals, on Thursday.
Addressing the inauguration of a three-day international conference on minimal access hernia surgery, he said that the State was a frontrunner in implementing welfare schemes related to healthcare. He said that while CMCHIS was highly successful, hernia surgery was not covered under it in private hospitals.
Arguing that people from poorer economic backgrounds were at a disadvantage because of this, he appealed to the Chief Minister to consider including laparoscopic hernia surgery under the scheme. He said that the chances of recurrence in laparoscopic removal of hernia was low, compared to the conventional procedure of placing a mesh.
A book on laparoscopic surgery authored by Mr. Palanivelu was also released on Thursday.
