In a major relief to the poor patients, the associated hospital of Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) has started accepting the health cards issued under the Mukhyamantri Swasthya Bima Yojga (MSBY). The hospital had stopped giving the facilities covered under MSBY scheme from August 01 as the term of it had ended on July 31. On Saturday, the official mail from the health directorate to extend the scheme for two more months arrived paving way for the hospital to resume services to MSBY card holders.
The Pioneer in its edition of August 05 had carried a story mentioning the plight of patients due to the refusal by the biggest Government hospital to accept the MSBY cards. Shockingly the patients were made to suffer due to lack of interdepartmental coordination which resulted in denial of free medical facilities to the card holders of ‘Mukhyamantri Swasthya Bima Yojna’ (MSBY) in the hospital.
After the end of term of the health insurance scheme on July 31, the state administration decided to extend the scheme for two more months. This decision was conveyed to the MSBY cell at the state health directorate which intimated the insurance company and the Third Party Administrator (TPA). However the hospital administration was not given written permission to continue the scheme following which it stopped the scheme.
The MSBY finally got its act together on Saturday as the official mail of extension of the scheme was dispatched to the hospital.
The Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital Dr KK Tamta accepted that the official confirmation for extension of the MSBY scheme has reached the hospital and the hospital now has stared accepting the health cards under the scheme. More than 50 patients per day avail the benefit of free hospitalisation, medication and other facilities’ covered under the MSBY scheme at the associated hospital of GDMC. Interestingly the insurance company owes a sum of more than Rs 1 crore to the hospital under the scheme.
The ambitious health insurance scheme was launched by the former Chief Minister Harish Rawat in the year 2015. In the initial phase an annual insurance cover of Rs 50000 was provided to the family of the beneficiary. The scheme was later extended and the insurance cover was increased to 50000 for normal diseases and Rs 1.25 lakhs for critical diseases. Both Above and Below Poverty line (APl and BPl) families are included under the scheme; the only exclusions being the government employees and income tax payers.