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Ayushman Bharat-Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana : Govt hospitals in Sangrur, Barnala districts stop orthopaedic surgeries
No funds released since January this year; govt owes around ₹14 crore to hospitals in both the districts
SANGRUR: Jatin Kumar, a resident of Nabha gate in Sangrur district, had to recently run from pillar to post for getting his 70-year-old mother’s knee replacement surgery done at a government hospital. However, the grim news for Kumar’s mother and several other beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat-Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana (AB-SSBY), awaiting orthopaedic treatments is that government hospitals of Sangrur and Barnala districts have now stopped surgeries and treatment of orthopaedic patients.
Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), a premier health institute, has already stopped providing all treatment and healthcare services to state’s patients under the health insurance.
The Sangrur and Barnala government hospitals have not been reimbursed under the AB-SSBY scheme since January this year. While the government owes around ₹10 crore to hospitals of Sangrur district and ₹4 crore to hospitals of Barnala district, it is people like Kumar and his septuagenarian mother, who are at the receiving end.
“We visited the government hospital several times for knee replacement of my mother. They told us to revisit but it kept getting delayed. Finally, we got the surgery done from a private hospital,” said Kumar.
However, with orthopaedic services taking a hit due to the non-payment of dues to government hospitals, not everyone can afford treatment from a private hospital.
Amarjeet Kaur (50), a resident of Sangrur says even though the government hospital she had visited, postponed her surgery twice, “but I am left with no other choice but to wait,” she added.
“The government hospital postponed my surgery twice but I don’t have the money to go to a private hospital for treatment of joints,” said Kaur.
Despite being beneficiaries of the cashless health insurance cover, patients who otherwise cannot afford costly treatment, have to visit the private hospitals for treatment and surgeries, which is costing them dearly.
According to health officials, a knee replacement costs ₹60,000 to ₹80,000 at government hospitals but it costs over ₹1 lakh at private hospitals. The pending funds are soaring as the private company that was given the contract for the insurance had refused to provide services, said health officials.
Meanwhile, the doctors have expressed their “helplessness” due to delay in the reimbursements from the government.
“We are waiting for the government to reimburse us. We have stopped treating ortho patients as their treatment is costly and we couldn’t afford to borrow equipment, implants and other supplies needed for their treatment. However, we are managing to provide all other services under the health cover,” said Sangrur civil surgeon Parminder Kaur.
Barnala civil surgeon, Jasbir Aulakh said, “We have only stopped treatment of ortho patients. Besides, other treatment and facilities are being provided under the health cover.”
Director health department Dr Ranjit Singh, when contacted, said, “This is not a new thing. It has been happening for the past few months. The department is in the process of engaging a new firm for health insurance.”
However, principal secretary of the department Ajoy Sharma said the issue of non-payment of dues to hospitals will be resolved in 8 to 10 days. “Around ₹300 crore is pending for government hospitals and we will resolve the issue within 8 to 10 days. We will be starting to pay even earlier,” said Sharma.
