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Aarogyasri may land into coma
With the government not clearing the pending bills for about eight months, the Aarogyasri network hospitals across the state have decided to discontinue services from May 2.
Hyderabad: With the government not clearing the pending bills for about eight months, the Aarogyasri network hospitals across the state have decided to discontinue services from May 2.
There are 60 government hospitals and 148 network hospitals in the state that come under the ambit of state-run Aarogyasri Health Care Trust. With the government not clearing the bills related to a staggering 87,000 cases since August 2015, about Rs 260 crore is said to be pending till March this year.
The inordinate delay in releasing the funds left the network hospitals in doldrums. As of now, while the private networks hospitals are providing 70 per cent of healthcare services to people under the scheme, the rest is provided by the government hospitals.
Telangana Private Hospitals & Nursing Homes Association (THANA) Chairman T Narsinga Reddy said: “Despite repeated representations to the Health Minister and the Chief Executive Officer of the Aarogyasri Health Care Trust, only a part of payment was released last year. Since then the mounting dues have pushed the private hospitals into financial problems.
As a result, we are finding it difficult to run the hospitals and even some of them are on the verge of closure.” The government which promised 20 per cent hike in the amount of packages once in two years kept its promise only once since the Aarogyasri scheme was started in 2007, he said, stating that current packages are far below the annual inflation index.
It may be mentioned here that Health Minister C Lakshma Reddy, who recently visited Warangal, reportedly assured the representatives of THANA of releasing pending bills in a couple of days but to no avail.
Against this backdrop, the THANA has decided to withdraw Aarogyasri services and Employees Health Scheme (EHS) from May 2 if the government fails to clear pending bills by May 1.
District-wise breakup of network hospitals in the State: Hyderabad 56, Ranga Reddy 14, Warangal 28, Karimnagar 18, Nizamabad 10, Khammam 9, Mahabubnagar 7, Nalgonda 3, Medak 2, Adilabad one. Meanwhile, the government is likely to release a part payment of about Rs 191 crore in a few days, according to Aarogyasri Health Care Trust sources.
