State to provide insurance cover for private doctors, NGOs, activists working on frontline

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday declared that it will offer insurance cover of ₹50 lakh to private doctors working on the frontline. The amount will be given to the next of kin if the doctor dies from Covid-19 while treating patients infected with the disease. It has also decided to provide an insurance cover of ₹25 lakh to social activists or NGOs conducting final rites of Covid victims in rural areas.

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State health minister Rajesh Tope said, “Any private doctor who was treating Covid-19 patients at his private hospital or a government hospital and eventually died after getting infected, with it will be eligible to get insurance cover of ₹50 lakh. The next of kin of the private doctor will get the insurance amount.”

The only condition is that the concerned district collector will have to verify and the director of health services will have to endorse the claim application, he said.

Life insurance was one of the demands earlier made by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC). Tope said he has given a written assurance to the representatives from both the organisations, in a meeting held recently.

In another decision, the state has decided to provide an insurance cover of ₹25 lakh to social activists or NGOs performing final rites of those who died to Covid-19. The decision was taken considering the instances where NGOs or social activists came forward to perform the final rites of a Covid-19 patient after family members refused to attend, out of fear of getting infected, state rural development minister Hasan Mushrif said while making the announcement.

“A social activist or an NGO involved in performing final rites of those who died due to the coronavirus in rural areas will get insurance cover of ₹25 lakh. It means if such a person dies due to Covid-19 infection than his or her next of kin will get the insurance amount,” Mushrif said.

The only condition is that the social activist should not be in government service and the NGO should be registered with the charity commissioner, he said. “These people are putting their lives at risk by performing the final rites of unclaimed bodies. Considering that the decision is approved, the insurance cover scheme will be applicable until September 30,” he added.

Doctors should reconsider over-prescribing Tocilizumab for Covid treatment, says Tope

State health minister Rajesh Tope said that doctors should seriously reconsider over-prescribing Tocilizumab as the firm (Roche) manufacturing the drug has admitted that it is not that effective in treating Covid-19. Tope also said that the task force will be making changes in the treatment protocol overuse of the drug considering the same.

“Doctors should seriously give a thought to prescribing Tocilizumab in the backdrop of Roche’s letter in which it has admitted that the drug is not that effective for treating Covid-19. The task force formed to reduce Covid-19 casualties has formulated treatment protocol considering guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the World Health Organization (WHO). It will also consider changing the treatment protocol for overuse of this drug for Covid treatment following the development,” said the health minister.