Following the cash crunch, Jharkhand chapter of Indian Medical Association (IMA) has suggested private hospitals and clinics to accept old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes along with ID proofs of the patients. The IMA has also appealed the State Government to allow private hospitals and nursing homes to accepts Rs 500 and 1000 notes on the lines of government hospitals so that people do not have to face problems in getting treated themselves in those hospitals.
“After they queried about the way out to meet the crisis, we have suggested them to accept old notes of bigger denominations from the patients along with their identity proof so that proper monitoring could be done of such transactions. For example, if a patient want to pay his hospital bill, he will be asked to attach a photo copy of his ID proof along with other details like when he was admitted and released so that an explanation could be given to the Income Tax Department when asked for,” said IMA Secretary Pradeep Kumar Singh. Daily track of opening and closing of transactions per day should also be maintained to remove doubts over such transactions, he added.
“We have also written Chief Minister Raghubar Das to allow private hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics also to accept notes of higher denominations as has been done in Maharashtra,” said Singh. If Maharashtra could do this, why cannot Jharkhand, he questioned.
Singh rejected the allegations that most of the private hospitals were not accepting Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes and said that he had reports that the notes were being accepted everywhere in Jharkhand. However, in a fact finding bid by the pioneer it was found that majority of private hospitals were not accepting bigger notes and have put notices requesting patients to pay their bills only through debit or credit cards.
“There is no clear cut instruction by the Government whether to accept those notes or not, hence we have chosen not to accept such notes to avoid any problem in future,” said a staff at prestigious Rani Children Hospital in Ranchi requesting anonymity.
When questioned about reports that huge black money were being deposited in the banks in the name of money received by the hospital in the last few days, Singh said that there are both positive and negative impact of everything but one should focus only on the positive side of it.
Singh also informed that looking at the problems faced by the patients due to demonetization, some of the private hospitals in Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Giridih, Palamu and Ranchi, have made their OPDs free for few days where the patients are being provided free service.