Pvt hospitals flag issues in Sehat Bima Yojana, Minister assures of swift resolution

Several issues concerning private hospitals and medical professionals were raised before Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh during an interaction with members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) at IMA House here last evening.

The meeting was attended by MLA Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar and MLA Dr Ajay Gupta and was chaired by IMA Punjab president Dr RS Sethi, who highlighted key concerns being faced by private healthcare institutions across the state.

A major issue discussed during the meeting was the functioning of hospitals under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana (MMSBY). Dr Sethi said hospitals empanelled under the scheme were facing difficulties due to unnecessary deductions and rejection of claims at the Third Party Administrator (TPA) level.

He said hospitals were repeatedly being asked to submit clarifications, which was affecting their smooth functioning. Dr Ajay Gupta also supported the concerns raised by private hospitals.

Responding to the issue, Dr Balbir Singh assured the doctors that the matter would be resolved at the earliest. He said Civil Surgeons in every district would conduct weekly meetings to address grievances related to the scheme.

The Health Minister further assured that all pending payments under the insurance scheme would be cleared within the next 15 days.

He appealed to hospitals unwilling to continue under the scheme to voluntarily opt out instead of creating confusion among patients.

The issue of biomedical waste management also figured prominently during the meeting. Dr Sethi demanded implementation of a Kerala-model system and fixation of biomedical waste charges according to the quantity of waste generated.

The Health Minister assured that a proposal regarding the issue would be prepared and taken up at the government level. IMA members also raised concerns regarding solid waste charges imposed by municipal corporations.