The number of people who received free Covid-19 treatment in private hospitals in Andhra Pradesh under Arogyasri scheme crossed one lakh Thursday. The state was the first to include Covid-19 treatment in the list of illnesses covered under the state’s flagship healthcare scheme just as the pandemic started last year.
“These people were able to receive the best Covid-19 treatment for free at private hospitals under Arogyasri. In most cases the hospital bills paid by the government were more than the annual income of the affected person and his or her family,” said Health Minister A K Krishna Srinivas. Till Thursday, 1,00,033 Covid-19 patients had received free treatment in various private hospitals across the state, under this scheme. The government has spent over Rs 309 crores to pay off the bills pertaining to these individuals. Under Arogyasri, economically and socially backward families receive free health care at listed hospitals, if the medical expense exceeds Rs 1,000.
The state government is providing free treatment at all government hospitals, and the private hospitals taken over by the government due to the pandemic, irrespective of whether or not the individual is eligible under Arogyasri. However, exclusively under the Arogyasri scheme, so far, 1,00,033 Covid-19 affected persons who chose to go to a private hospital not taken over by the government, have been treated. The scheme permitted some critically ill persons to receive treatment even at expensive hospitals such as Apollo Hospitals. In Nellore District, Manda Ramaiah (49) got admitted to Apollo Speciality Hospitals and his medical expenses of Rs 5,87,534 were paid by the state government through Arogyasri. Sheik Nazeer’s bills of Rs 4,68,312 were also approved under the scheme. One of the main criteria to be eligible for enrolment in Arogyasri is that the family’s income should be less than Rs 5 lakh per annum. Officials said that the huge hospital bills of Covid-19 patients would have brought financial ruin to such families as they would have had to spend an year’s income on treatment if they were not eligible for free treatment. The state which brought down the number of positive cases to less than 50 in the second week of February is witnessing a huge resurgence in Covid-19 positive cases. On Thursday, the state reported 10,759 cases and 29 Covid-related deaths. The total number of cases in the state so far is 9,97,462.
Alarmed at the drastic increase, a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by the health minister discussed key issues in containing the virus, steps to be taken to bring down the number of cases, oxygen supply, testing, vaccination and shall present the recommendations to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The minister said that certain measures were taken to ensure that there is no shortage of oxygen or medicines in hospitals across the state, adding that the oxygen supply is in-line with the requirement level. Currently, the state needs 360 metric tons of oxygen and there is no problem for government hospitals, he said, adding that the Centre will provide assistance to set up a new oxygen plant in the state. He said that the government has been trying to complete the vaccination programme faster. So far, over 49 lakh people have been vaccinated in Andhra Pradesh. The minister also warned that strict action would be taken against private hospitals if they charge more than the prescribed prices and asked them to act humanely during the pandemic.