Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Repalle MLA Anagani Satya Prasad has urged Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to restore the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) to provide financial assistance to the poor in need of costly treatment for chronic and fatal diseases.
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In an open letter to the Chief Minister on Sunday, Mr. Satya Prasad said that the CMRF used to be a boon for the poor patients who could get timely treatment for severe illnesses in the past.
“Hundreds of patients had availed of these funds to save their lives. More than ₹1,600 crore worth payments were made under the CMRF towards the treatment of about 2.5 lakh patients during the TDP’s trenure. Treatment was provided to the poor patients for more than 1,500 diseases through the NTR Vaidya Seva,” he said.
He said it was not correct on the part of the government not to pay the pending medical bills to the hospitals from the CMRF. “The payments are not being made in time for the new applicants. Because of the negligence of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), more than 40,000 applications and hundreds of crores of bills are pending,” he said, adding that the government must withdraw the move to wind up the CMRF on the ground that it would not be needed as all diseases had been included under the Aarogyasri. “In the name of the Aarogyasri, efforts are being made to wipe out the CMRF facility. How will the government help those patients who are below the poverty line without having Aarogyasri cards?” he asked.
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