West Bengal: Health card must for govt hospital admission

KOLKATA: A Swasthya Saathi card or any other government health insurance card has been made mandatory for admission to government hospitals in Bengal. According to an advisory issued by the state health department, the decision has been taken “considering the wide coverage of Swasthya Saathi.”
Those covered under schemes like URN, CGHS and WBHS will also be eligible for admission in government hospitals, said the advisory.
The state health department has asked private hospitals not to charge Swasthya Saathi patients more than the prescribed rates for various treatment packages under the scheme. It has also asked private hospitals to prescribe generic medicines to patients admitted under the scheme that offers an insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh.
Investigation charges, too, should stick to the government-prescribed rates for Swasthya Saathi patients, it has been said. “….It is expected that most of the residents either have Swasthya Saathi cards or CGHS/WBHS/ESIC cards,” stated the advisory issued on Monday. The direction follows allegations from a section of patients that they were charged more than the rates prescribed.
Private hospitals maintained that they stick to the prescribed rates for Swasthya Saathi patients. “There is no question of violating the prescribed Swasthya Saathi rates for treatment or investigation. But we can’t always prescribe generic drugs since more than 70% of medicines that patients require are not available in generic forms,” said Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra.
The Association of Hospitals of Eastern India (AHEI) has decided to appeal against the advisory. “Swasthya Saathi will lose its efficacy if emergency treatment rates are fixed at Rs 5,000. While we accept that other rates should stick to the prescribed package charges, emergency treatment cost can’t be restricted to such a low figure. It is impractical and defies logic,” said AHEI president Rupak Barua.