Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is considering a proposal to give free healthcare to all senior citizens. The proposal passed by the health committee will come up for discussion before the standing committee on Wednesday. The proposal allows investigation and surgeries in municipal hospitals for people above 60 years of age.
The BMC runs major public hospitals including KEM, Sion, and Nair. They charge ₹10 for consultation to all patients while a charge is levied for other treatment. From 2016, the civic body started giving a 50% discount to all senior citizens on routine check-up and surgeries.
The ruling Shiv Sena had pushed for the proposal, when it was tabled before the health committee on June 27. It was also passed by the group leaders’ meeting on March 21.
“Senior citizens form a bulk of our patients in municipal hospitals. As a service, we need to provide them free treatment. The proposal was unanimously passed by the health committee, and we are hoping it will be passed by the standing committee,” Archana Bhalerao, Sena corporator and chairperson of the health committee, said.
However, there is no provision in this year’s budget for this, and therefore, the standing committee will have to take a policy decision on the matter. Once passed, the proposal will require the approval of the general assembly.
