KAKINADA: Beneficiaries eligible for medical treatment under Aarogyasri, Journalists' Health Scheme (JHS) and Employees' Health Scheme (EHS) have appealed to the NDA coalition government to include within these schemes costs incurred towards consultation with doctors, diagnostic tests and other medical procedures.
They contend that the pre-admission costs are themselves so prohibitive that common people cannot afford them. They end up taking loans just to undergo these tests, social activists have said.
State government is providing medical treatment under Aarogyasri, JHS and EHS through the NTR Vaidya Seva Trust. However, these schemes are only applicable for patients who are admitted into the hospital or will undergo treatment, including surgeries.
Patients have to bear the consultation, investigation and other procedural costs. Consultation fee at private hospitals ranges from ₹500 to ₹1,000 in Godavari districts. Whether needed or not, doctors prescribe tests that the patient has to pay for.
Notable is the experience shared by a patient who wishes to remain anonymous. He approached a corporate hospital in Kakinada as he had been passing blood in his stools. The Arogya Mitra staff in the hospital made it clear that consultation fees and other procedures will not be covered without admitting the person into the hospital on the recommendation of a doctor.
The patient paid '650 for consultation and went to the doctor. The doctor suggested blood tests that cost '4,500. Later, he had to undergo an endoscopy for which the hospital charged '4,300. The doctor then advised a colonoscopy. The patient paid '3,500. Later, the doctor said all tests are normal and prescribed medicines to overcome the problem, which cost him another ₹3,500.
"My monthly salary is '18,000. How can I bear such expenses? I appeal to the government to include all costs of consultation and procedural tests under the health schemes and save patients like me.
Social activist D.N. Ramesh said private hospitals, in particular the corporate ones, are looting patients with unnecessary tests. "Both the central and state governments should curb such practices in the interests of people," Ramesh underlined.
A kidney donor M. Bala Tripura said she had donated her kidney to her son. Kidney transplantation surgery had been performed free of cost. But she had to pay nearly '3 lakh for the operation to remove her kidney. She requested that the government pay the medical costs of donors too, as middle class and poorer sections cannot afford such expenses.
When contacted, an official of the NTR Vaidya Seva Trust said costs of consultation and investigations have not been included in the MoU signed between the state government and the trust.