Bangalore: The state government’s ambitious Jyothi Sanjeevini Scheme (JSS) for Government Employees and their family members seems to have run into rough weather.
The scheme is designed to provide cashless medical facilities to the over 25 lakh government employees and their families. The health service provider empanelled with the government has to agree to provide at least 10% of the bed capacity available for the beneficiaries. Under the scheme, government employees are graded based on the basic component of their salary. Those drawing a basic salary of up to Rs 16,000 will get hospital accommodation in the general ward. Those whose basic income falls in the Rs 16,000-42,000 slab are entitled to a semi-private ward, while those with Rs 42,000 and above can avail of private rooms.
However, the private hospital managements have raised the red flag. They have threatened not to implement the scheme. The issue? The cost of many medical procedures fixed by the government is far below the actual expenditure. Hospitals say they will incur huge losses if the government goes ahead with the project. Its annual estimation touches Rs 50 crore.
For instance, Rs 1.1 lakh has been earmarked for open heart bypass surgery, whereas the actual procedure costs Rs 3.5 lakh in a multi-specialty private hospital.
Dr Prashanth BK, neurosurgeon from Bijapur and coordinator, Karnataka Private Hospitals Association, which has petitioned the government on the issue says, “Ultimately, one has to look for the outcome of the patients’ recovery. What is their aim? Is it all about spending minimal money or saving lives? How can we compromise on quality?” asked.
Dr P Boregowda, executive director of Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST), said the scheme would be launched once the department completes collating data on the beneficiaries. So far, 102 hospitals in the state have empanelled with SAST for the scheme, and 146 hospitals are working with the government on the Vajpayee Arogyashree scheme.
“We will not force any hospital to have an agreement with us on this scheme. They can decide on this. Some doctors from hospitals accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare (NABH) explained their unwillingness to take up the project as they are not happy with the cost factor. But medical service charges cannot be hiked now to help only nine NABH hospitals. We might end up paying more to non-NABH hospitals if we do so,” said Dr Boregowda.
