With over Rs 1500 crore dues pending, 240 hospitals stop healthcare services under Telangana Arogyasri scheme

Telangana: Waiting for pending dues amounting to Rs 1500 crore, 240 private hospitals across the Telangana state, have stopped Healthcare services under Telangana's Arogyasri scheme

The Telangana Aarogyasri Scheme is a Community Health Insurance Scheme being implemented in State. The scheme provides financial protection to families living below poverty line upto Rs. 2 lakhs in a year for the treatment of serious ailments requiring hospitalization and surgery. 949 treatments are covered under the scheme The scheme provides coverage for the systems like Heart, Lung, Liver, Pancreas, Kidney, Neuro-Surgery, Pediatric Congenital Malformations, Burns, Post -Burn Contracture Surgeries for Functional Improvement, Prostheses (Artificial limbs), Cancer treatment (Surgery, Chemo Therapy, Radio Therapy ), Polytrauma ( including cases covered under MV Act) and Cochlear Implant Surgery with Auditory-Verbal Therapy for Children below 2 years. All the pre-existing cases of the above mentioned diseases are covered under the scheme.

It is reported that currently there stands non-payment of dues to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore by the state government to the private hospitals in the state.

IANS reports that talks between Health Minister Etela Rajender and Telangana Network Hospitals Association (TNHA) failed to find a solution.

The minister said after the talks with representatives of TNHA that the dues amount to only Rs 600 crore and that the government will immediately release Rs 200 crore.

He said the decision on the demand to increase the charges for various services would be taken after consultation with Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao.

TNHA, however, maintained that the government has to pay dues to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore.

The hospitals stopped the services under Arogyasri, Employees' Health Scheme (EHS) and Journalists' Health Scheme (JHS).

Over 80 lakh Below Poverty Line (BPL) families are provided free healthcare facilities in private hospitals under Arogyasri, which was launched by the then Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy government in undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2007.

The network hospitals stopped the services on many occasions in the last four years over non-payment of dues.

They have also been demanding revision of the rates for various packages under the scheme.