Pvt hospitals refuse to get empanelled at govt rates

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 29

Punjab’s ministers and MLAs’ wish to seek treatment at luxury corporate hospitals have come a cropper as most of the corporate hospitals in Delhi and Mumbai have refused to get empanelled on government rates.

According to sources, the state government had sent a communication to 33 government and private hospitals outside Punjab requesting them to get empanelled for offering treatment to MLAs and ministers.

At present, the MLAs and ministers get treatment by spending from their own pocket and get reimbursement from government on AIIMS and PGI rates. The government is planning to upgrade those rates to Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rates, which are much higher.

Though all government and charitable hospitals in Punjab and outside have agreed to get empanelled, but 16 private hospitals, including four top hospitals like Lilavati Hospital (Mumbai), Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute (Mumbai), Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi have not agreed to Punjab’s proposal.

Four hospitals, including Escorts, GB Panth Hospital, Indraprashta Apollo Hospital and Max Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi have not responded to the state government’s offer even after two months.

Among the top private hospitals, only Medanta, Medicity have agreed to treat MLAs and ministers.

Some private hospitals in Punjab located in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar have agreed to the government’s offer.

Interestingly, among Punjab’s top corporate hospitals, Max Super Speciality Hospital in SAS Nagar has agreed. However, Fortis Hospital, Mohali has agreed with on its own terms and conditions. It has agreed manly in those specialties in which implants are used like joint replacement, cardiology and oncology.

These are the branches in which medicines and implants have commonly inflated MRPs. DMC, Ludhiana and Hearo Heart Institute have also agreed but said that it will not offer CGHS rates on all the treatments.

Significantly, two months ago, the state government tried to bring all MLAs under the state’s cashless health insurance scheme in a bid to reduce the burden on the treasury.

However, most of the legislators, cutting across party lines, gave the thumbs down to the scheme. They insisted on the empanelment of top private hospitals in the couyntry. The communication in this regard was sent to the state health department by the Vidhan Sabha secretary on March 16.