Breaking News: Right to Health Bill passed in Rajasthan Assembly

Jaipur: Despite the ongoing protest from the entire medical fraternity in the State, the highly debated "Right to Health Bill" got passed in the State Assembly today after the Health Minister of the State explained the features of the Bill.

While on the other hand, the private hospital doctors, resident doctors from medical colleges were protesting against the bill at the Statue Circle near the Assembly, the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly passed the Bill by voice vote.

Commenting on the matter, Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena told First India News, "Rajasthan is going to be a model state in the entire Asia for providing the residents of the state with the right to healthcare. It was the vision of the Chief Minister that people get the right to healthcare and the bill got passed in the Assembly today."

When asked about the opposition against the bill from the medical fraternity, the Health Minister added, "We have agreed to all the suggestions given by the doctors. There is not even a single suggestion given by the doctors that we have not considered and agreed to. They wanted us to roll back the bill. But it was the vision of the Chief Minister. We are doing this for the public. So their demand to withdraw the bill was without any basis and so we told them that we will not roll back the bill."

The Health Minister also appealed to the doctors for the sake of people to withdraw their strike and commence their work. "The bill has been passed only after the select committee accepted all the suggestions given by the doctors," mentioned the Minister adding that the doctors can meet him anytime as the doors are always open.

Also Read: Rajasthan Right to Health Bill: Police Lathi Charge to Prevent Private Hospital Doctors from reaching Assembly

The doctors belonging to private hospitals in Rajasthan have been protesting against the proposed "Right to Health" bill for the last few months. While the Bill was proposed by the Rajasthan Government to ensure that the residents of the State can avail treatment at any hospital, it made the medical fraternity in the State furious as they termed it to be draconian and illogical. Several Clauses of the bill have been pointed out by the doctors under Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Society (PHNHS) and Jaipur Medical Association as they claimed that it lacks clarity and wants to delimit the powers of doctors.

Referring to the Bill that aims to ensure the rights of the patient for availing quality healthcare, the doctors have mainly objected to the clauses that requires that patients will be treated for any medical emergency free of cost at both private and government hospitals. The doctors pointed out that the State has not defined what is an emergency and how the cost of such medical expenses will be reimbursed to the private doctors and hospitals.

Apart from this, the doctors under the Jaipur branch of Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also opposed a specific clause of the bill that talks about setting up a separate grievance redressal committee for addressing the complaints by patients.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that as a symbol of protest against the Bill, the doctors had decided to march towards the State Assembly on Monday. However, police used force and lathi charge to stop the doctors from reaching the assembly, where the bill is scheduled to be tabled. This enraged the entire medical fraternity. Previously while speaking to Medical Dialogues, the president of Jaipur Medical Association had mentioned that government doctors also decided to support the protesting doctors and further decisions would be taken after a meeting by the government doctors.

Now the entire medical fraternity in the State including the government medical college doctors and resident doctors have given a call for a complete shutdown of medical services for the first time in History.

While the protesting doctors gathered at the Statue Circle near the Assembly and raised slogans against the bill, the police used water cannons on the protesting doctors.

Amid all this, the bill got passed in the Assembly and speaking to First India News in this regard, the State Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena added, "Our CM has given the gift of Right to Health Bill to the people of the State. Rajasthan is the first State in the entire country and entire Asia and Ashok Gehlot ji is the first CM who did what he promised. Now people can go to any hospital for treatment. This is a huge law that the Rajasthan Government has introduced. The Bill got passed unanimously and this has made history."

"We have talked to the doctors in the Select Committee and all the organisations. The few things against which there was objections, we clarified that we will not add it in the Act but in the Rules. Any Government can modify the rules any time," he further added.

He further mentioned that the State will take action against such hospitals who will not adhere to the Act. "The hospital will surely have to follow the rules strictly and we will take action against those who will not comply with it," he added.

Meanwhile, commenting on the recent development of the Bill getting passed in the Assembly, the former president of JARD, Dr Amit Yadav added, "Our indefinite complete shutdown will continue. Bills can be reverted as the Krishi Kanoon also was withdrawn after protest. We will be on complete strike till this bill gets reconsidered or reverted."

Also Read: Right To Health Bill Protest escalates with complete medical shutdown in Rajasthan, Police use water cannons on doctors