In a move expected to benefit nearly 40 lakh families across the State, Punjab Government on Tuesday announced to provide free treatment to the Covid-19 patients falling under Sarbat Sehat Beema Yojna in all the empanelled private hospitals.
Announcing the decision expected to provide a major reprieve to the weaker and underprivileged sections of society, the state Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said that the facility will be available in the hospitals equipped for offering COVID-19 treatment at cap rates ranging from Rs 8,000 to Rs 18,000 per day, which are the same rates that have been fixed for private hospitals in the State for the general public.
“The State Government will bear the entire differential treatment cost derived after deducting the cost payable by the Insurance Company from the cap rates,” said Sidhu. He unequivocally added that cap rates are all-inclusive, that includes bed, PPE kits, medicines, consumables, monitoring or nursing care, doctor’s fee, investigations, oxygen, among others.
The Minister said that SSBY beneficiaries can directly visit empanelled private hospitals without any need for referral from the public hospitals for Covid-19 treatment. “This initiative shall bring an immense relief to the vulnerable and deprived section of the State population, who will now be able to avail Level II and Level III treatment care in empanelled private hospitals,” he added.
He said that earlier, the treatment available in these empanelled private hospitals was payable as per SSBY scheme rates fixed by Government of India that range from Rs 1,800 to Rs 4,500, which were too less to be viable for the hospital to meet expenses of treatment of a Covid-19 patient that entails additional cost on account of PPE kits, masks, consumables, isolation, etc.