Zero prescription policy gets ₹500 cr; fee mooted for non-Mumbaikars

The BMC has allocated ₹500 crore for its 'Zero Prescription Policy', where hospitals will provide free medicines. The policy will start on April 1. The BMC has allocated a total of ₹7,191.13 crore for healthcare, the same as last year.

Mumbai: The BMC has allocated ₹500 crore for its ambitious ‘Zero Prescription Policy’, wherein hospitals run by the civic body will provide all necessary medicines to patients free of cost. The policy will be rolled out on April 1. Overall, the BMC has allocated ₹7,191.13 crore for health, or 12% of the annual budget – the same as last year.

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HT had on November 24, 2023, reported about the corporation becoming the first in the country to implement the zero prescription policy, for which the procurement list of medical supplies was expanded from 1,000 to 4,000 items. The policy addresses long-standing artificial shortage of medicines at BMC-run hospitals, which forces patients to shell out large sums to buy medicines. “The tendering process is on, and we should roll out the policy by April 1,” said Dr Sudhakar Shinde, additional municipal commissioner, BMC.

The BMC estimates the annual cost of implementing the policy at ₹1,200 crore, while the allocated budget is ₹500 crore. The budget document moots a ‘separate fee structure’ for patients from outside Mumbai who avail treatment at BMC-run hospitals, as the corporation the taxes/charges imposed on Mumbaikars to provide healthcare facilities to patients from across the state.

“A review will be undertaken to explore the possibility of charging a small fee from patients who are not from Mumbai. Since we will be buying medicines in bulk and getting them at much cheaper rates, we will consider charging a fee that will be less than what will be charged outside,” said a senior health official.

Overall, the civic body has allocated ₹7,191 crore or 12% for health in its 2024-25 budget. The share of health in the 2023-24 and 2022-23 budgets was 12% and 15%, respectively.

The budget allocated for health includes ₹110 crore towards the procurement of medical equipment for medical colleges, including CT scan machines, laparoscopic HD sets, heart lung machines, advanced ultrasonography machines, nasal endoscopes, and four MRI machines.

“We are getting four 3-Tesla MRI machines within a month for our four medical colleges at ₹26 crore,” said Dr Shinde. This decision to procure new MRI machines follows reports on challenges faced by patients due to a non-functional MRI machine at BYL Nair Hospital.

An amount of ₹23.46 crore has been allocated for the BMC’s flagship project, Aapla Dawakhana, wherein the civic body plans to introduce physiotherapists, ENT specialists, X-ray and mammography services, as well as provide ECG, CT scan, and MRI facilities through empanelled private diagnostic centres. An amount of ₹12 crore has been allocated for the non-communicable diseases programme, focussed on initiation of a “Cancer Prevention Model” at the ward level.