HYDERABAD: Dismissing claims that Aarogyasri services have come to a standstill in most private hospitals across the state, the Health department on Wednesday clarified that corporate hospitals did not join the strike and only 13 per cent of hospitals have stalled services.
Appealing to private hospitals to resume Aarogyasri services immediately, Health Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha reaffirmed the government’s commitment to clearing pending dues in a phased manner.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, the minister said the government has been releasing Rs 90 crore every month towards Aarogyasri dues and assured that the amount would be increased to Rs 100 crore with immediate effect.
“We have already released Rs 100 crore on Monday. Hospitals should cooperate with the government and resume services. We have also enhanced rates for several treatment packages and medical procedures under the scheme, which has imposed an additional burden of Rs 487 crore on the exchequer. Aarogyasri now covers as many as 1,385 medical procedures. All these measures are aimed at safeguarding the welfare of the poor,” he said, questioning why hospitals that had remained silent for the past 10 years have suddenly chosen to go on strike.
Aarogyasri CEO Uday Kumar said that out of 477 hospitals only 62 were on strike and 415 hospitals continued their services as usual. The department clarified that 844 surgeries were registered under Aarogyasri for the last two weeks and only 5 per cent surgeries were impacted due to the strike.
He further said that the department had made arrangements in government hospitals to ensure patients do not face any inconvenience.
The Telangana Aarogyasri Network Hospitals Association (TANHA) president Dr Vaddiraju Rakesh had said in a statement on Tuesday night that Aarogyasri services would be suspended from midnight due to the pending dues. He said that small and medium-size hospitals were under severe financial burden, forcing them to suspend the services.
Resume services, Ponnam urges private hospitals
Meanwhile, Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar urged private hospital managements to immediately resume Aarogyasri services, stating that the strike was causing immense hardship to poor patients across the state.
“Private hospitals should reconsider their decision to suspend Aarogyasri services and resume them without delay. Soon after the formation of the Telangana people’s government, we not only enhanced the coverage under Aarogyasri from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh but also cleared pending dues of Rs 1,779 crore.”