CPI demands restoration of Aarogyasri services

Vijayawada: CPI state secretary G Eswaraiah urged the state government to immediately release the pending Rs.3,000 crore dues to network hospitals and restore the NTR Vaidya Seva (Aarogyasri) medical services without further delay.

In his first letter to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu after assuming office, Eswaraiah said the free healthcare scheme, which benefits lakhs of poor families, has been suspended for the past two weeks due to non-payment of bills to empanelled hospitals. He noted that several hospitals have stopped admitting patients under the scheme, leaving those suffering from heart, kidney and cancer ailments in distress. The prolonged suspension, he said, has pushed many poor and middle-class families into financial hardship.

Expressing concern over inadequate facilities and staff in government hospitals, Eswaraiah described Aarogyasri as a “lifeline for the poor” and appealed to the Chief Minister to act immediately to rAestore the services.