NEW DELHI: The health ministry has asked country’s premier government hospital AIIMS to review its user charges which has not been revised since the last 20 years. The health ministry’s missive came on the directions of the Finance Ministry which reminded the former that the issue has been pending for quite some time. The direction comes at a time when the All India Institute of Medical Sciences was planning to do away with charges on diagnostic procedures, like blood tests and X-rays which cost less than Rs 500.
A letter from the health ministry to the AIIMS said, “Kindly refer to the ministry’s letter dated March 14 and subsequent reminders dated April 11, May 5 and August 4, 2017 regarding review of user charges of autonomous bodies. The requisite information from the institute is still awaited. There has been a considerable delay and the department of expenditure is pressing very hard for the information.” According to a senior government official, the Prime Minister’s Office wants user charges at all government institutes to be reviewed. Another official said every year, the AIIMS demands for additional allocation amounting over Rs 300 crore, in non-plan expenditures, including for consumables, maintenance and salaries among others, which are of recurring nature. There are huge deviations between budget estimates and revised estimates. The official added, “The finance ministry has asked the AIIMS to conduct a review of its user charges which have not been revised since 1996.”
The government’s direction is in exact contrast to what the hospital feels. An internal committee, constituted to review the user charges at the hospital, has recommended against charging money for tests and procedures which cost less than Rs 500 at the institute. It has suggested that private ward charges at the AIIMS should be increased to make up for the loss as their rates are less than semi-private wards in corporate hospitals that can be accessed by people under Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).
Regarding an increase in fees for diagnostic tests on basis of income is concerned, the committee said there were challenges in identifying the economically weaker sections of the society and recommended that differential fee arrangement should not implemented. The hospital currently generates Rs 101 crore from user charges which include OPD charges, diagnostic tests in various departments, radiology charges, in-patient care and room rentals. The cost of many routine tests at AIIMS ranges between Rs 10 and Rs 25. Around 10,000 people visit the out-patient department of the AIIMS every day and at any given time, more than 2,000 patients are admitted to the hospital.