Goa govt projects Rs 2.7 lakh revenue collection at GMCH

Panaji:  The Goa government has projected the revenue collection of around Rs 2.7 lakh in its premier Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on the first day of implementation of its decision to charge non-Goans with a nominal fee.

Health department started charging non-Goan patients being referred to all the four facilities, including the GMCH, two district hospitals – Hospicio (Margao) and Azilo (Mapusa)-- and ID Hospital located in Ponda town.

Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said the data collected from GMCH indicated that 24 per cent of the patients admitted in these hospitals are not from Goa.

The minister said the total collection, including registration fees and other procedures, stood at Rs 2.7 lakh, from the patients who were admitted in the GMCH.

Referring to the data, Rane said 19 per cent of the patients who were referred to OPDs of GMCH were not from Goa.

"Besides the regular Goan patients, 55 non-Goan patients were checked at OPDs including 16 from Karnataka, 11 from Maharashtra and rest from other states including Bihar," he said.