By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: HSPDP legislator Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit urged the government to ensure that people from poor economic backgrounds can avail medical treatment without having to deposit huge sums of money as advance payment.
“Patients have to deposit a huge amount of money as an advance payment in hospitals for availing the medical treatment. This kind of policy prevails in most of the private nursing homes and people from poor economic backgrounds are the worst sufferers,” Basaiawmoit said during the Question Hour in the Assembly on Tuesday.
In reply, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma said that the Government has not received any official complaint about a patient being asked to deposit huge amount of money as advance payment.
However, Dr Sangma admitted that unofficially, such things are happening.
While maintaining that the Government is committed in providing quality health care to the people, he said that it is because of this basic reason the Meghalaya Health Insurance Scheme (MHIS) was launched.
The Chief Minister also informed that the Government intends to empanel all the private nursing homes in the State for implementing the MHIS.
“The private nursing homes would be empanelled only if they qualify to the terms and conditions being laid down by the Government,” Dr Sangma asserted.
Informing that the MHIS would provide all households in the State with a financial cover of up to Rs 1, 60,000 per year to cover inpatient services, irrespective of income levels, Dr Sangma said that the Government also plans to come with a special scheme to provide medical treatment to those patients suffering from cardiac arrest, cancer and kidney disease.
“The Centre last year had launched a scheme to sponsor the medical expenses of people belonging to the BPL families who are suffering from cancer and other major ailments. The scheme launched by the Centre would take care of all the medical expenses,” the Chief Minister informed while adding that the Government would try to publicize the various health schemes for the benefit of the public at large.