SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, April 21: The hospital board wing of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has asked the state government to break the deadlock between empanelled private nursing homes and the health department over the due payment of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme as poor patients are perishing across the state.
While the empanelled nursing homes of Dhanbad have officially stopped the treatment of patients under the scheme from April 15, hospitals in Ranchi, Jamshedpur and other districts have done it unofficially due to non-payment by the government.
Meanwhile, the threat by Dhanbad civil surgeon (CS) to take action under the Clinical Establishment Act if empanelled nursing homes do not treat the patients, has fuelled the fire.
The hospital board wing of state IMA has expressed concern over the impasse. “The Parliament has passed the Clinical Establishment Act for improvement in health services but unfortunately, the Dhanbad civil surgeon has made it a tool for punishment,” said Dr RS Das, chairman of the board.
Dr Das said that Ayushman Bharat is an ambitious scheme in which private nursing homes provide health services at cheap rates to poor patients. But without funds, they can’t carry out the scheme for long and may have to shut down the centre.
“Three players- government, nursing homes and insurance companies- are involved in this matter. So, we urge the government to bring out a solution as soon as possible so that poor patients do not suffer,” said Dr Das.
He further said that for the treatment of patients under the scheme, private nursing homes have to pay the anesthesia doctor and nursing staff. “Without getting funds on time, how would they continue the treatment?”
A senior official of the health department said that the wrong billing by selected hospitals has put other health centres in the dock. So, the payment will be cleared only after proper verification.
Since many empanelled nursing homes of Ranchi have also been crippled by the non-payment by the government, the IMA Ranchi chapter has also expressed concern over the pending bills.
“The government must check the billing of nursing homes through the process if it suspects wrong billing by a particular hospital. But at the same time, it should ensure the timely payment so that the nursing homes can continue treatment of patients,” said Dr Ajit Kumar, joint secretary of the IMA Ranchi chapter.
