PM-JAY review: Gujarat to finalise cardiac stent pricing soon

Ahmedabad: The state health department announced on Thursday that new pricing guidelines for cardiac stents used in procedures like angioplasty will be finalised soon following concerns raised by cardiologists regarding rising costs and low package rates under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
The announcement was made after the 12th meeting of the PM-JAY governing body in the state, headed by state health minister Rushikesh Patel.
Patel told the media that in the past year, Rs 3,760 crore was disbursed under the PM-JAY scheme for patients. After the angioplasty deaths at Khyati Hospital in Nov last year, a helpline was introduced (079-66440104) and not less than 10,000 calls were received in three months. Of these, 900 were related to specific complaints and the rest to obtain information, Patel said.
He mentioned that instructions have been issued to identify complaints and resolve them in a timely manner. "The decision regarding stent pricing will be taken by an executive committee and implemented after a detailed discussion," Patel said.
He added that at present, the state offers a total of 2,471 health procedures under various heads. "Soon, new procedures will be covered under the PM-JAY scheme. A decision on it will be taken soon," Patel said.
Notably, the state introduced several reforms in PM-JAY procedures after the Khyati Hospital case and put in place more checks and balances by introducing standard operating procedures to ensure PM-JAY benefits are not misused.