Even as the Government extended Rajiv Arogyasri to five more districts on Tuesday, concerns are being raised if the much-publicised health insurance scheme for the underprivileged was being misused by the not-so-poor.
Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy himself expressed the fear recently that there was scope for misuse of the scheme meant to provide free treatment for the poor and asserted that the government was taking all preventive steps.
Some of the leading corporate hospitals in the city admitted instances of people, who could afford to pay, cornering benefit under the scheme. In some cases, patients who got themselves admitted for undergoing different procedures by paying the initial deposits, produced Arogyasri letters subsequently using political clout. As a result, the hospitals had to refund the amounts.
These were not the only deviations, the sources said. With recognised hospitals conducting screening camps in districts where the scheme is operational, there have been instances of variations in the number of poor patients identified for treatment. In case 25 patients get identified during a camp at a place, their number would jump to 75 within a week. How could there be such variation in a short span, wondered a highly placed hospital official, pointing to the need for audit. However, the sources agreed the scheme was a “boon” for the poor and only that the implementation needed to be tightened. Many of those who could not afford the treatment costs had become beneficiaries.
Asked how the misuse could be checked, a senior cardio-thoracic surgeon of a leading hospital suggested constitution of a flying squad to make random inspections. Patients found misusing the service should be penalised heavily. Also, there should be a clause stipulating that a patient who avails of the scheme should produce the necessary letter at the time of admission. With the extension to Medak, Karimnagar, Prakasam, Kadapa and Nellore, the scheme is now being implemented in 13 districts.
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