Five months after Govt. Order, Rajiv Arogyasri still on paper

Implementing body attributes delay to frequent transfers of officials, Lok Sabha elections

Five months after the formal announcement, Rajiv Arogyasri — the State government’s healthcare scheme for all above the poverty line (APL) ration cardholders — is still on paper.

The reluctance of corporate hospitals to get empanelled under the scheme has put paid to the plans of the government to provide high-quality medical treatment at low rates.

However, the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST) that is entrusted with the implementation of the scheme attributed the delay to frequent transfers of top officials in the Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Lok Sabha elections.

A Government Order on the scheme was issued on November 23, 2013. The scheme, stated to be the first of its kind in the country, was aimed at making it possible for all ration APL cardholders (irrespective of their economic status) to get subsidised treatment up to Rs. 1.5 lakh annually in super-specialty hospitals empanelled by the government.

Patients have to pay only 10 per cent of the total cost (up to Rs. 1.5 lakh). Now, BPL cardholders are covered under the Vajpayee Arogyasri.

Citing low package rates, nine of the 80 private hospitals empanelled for the Vajpayee Arogyasri had backed out of the partnership.

Of the nine hospitals, one is a noted medical college hospital in Dharwad and the others are among the top private hospitals in Bangalore. Their main contention was that the low government package rates would cut into their profits and hit their “functioning”.

According to a spokesperson of a private hospital, although surgical procedure rates vary among the hospitals, getting empanelled under the government schemes means “all hospitals will have to follow a standard rate”.

As most hospitals are also empanelled for the Vajpayee Arogyasri, they are finding it difficult to cross-subsidise the scheme with patients who can afford to pay. P. Bore Gowda, Executive Director of Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust, said that eight other hospitals had also stayed away from the scheme after their initial empanelment. But as the number of patients in these eight hospitals reduced considerably, they decided to remain in the scheme. The higher number of admissions in the empanelled hospitals compensated for the lowering of tariffs, he said. He said treatment packages were priced following extensive consultations with specialists from government and private sectors.

The Rajiv Arogyasri scheme is applicable to 447 surgical procedures.