The RTI (abbreviation for ‘Right to Information Act’) launched by the Indian government gives a common man the right to put up questions regarding public proceedings in India. The idea was to maintain transparency between public and government institutions. Recently, an RTI application filed by a citizen in Rajasthan reveals a shocking fact about two major state-run hospitals. Maharana Bhupal Hospital in Udaipur and Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur earned over Rs 82 lakh in the last 7-8 months.
In response to the RTI application, the SMS Jaipur administration replied that the hospital extorted Rs 32.99 lakh from other states between September 2016 and May 2017. Patients from other states and nations paid a hefty amount for receiving medical treatment at the SMS hospital. Upon investigation, officers found that the hospital’s earnings coincide with the prices of specific medical treatments.
It isn’t surprising that a lot of patients prefer SMS over other hospitals in Jaipur. SMS doctors have major accomplishments in their names, such as stem cell implantation and surgery of the largest gall bladder in the world.
Likewise, Udaipur’s MB Hospital earned Rs 49.80 lakh till April. 954 patients from other states paid the amount as ‘other state fee’ which is rather strange.
After the SHAA (State Health Assurance Agency) issued a notification on January 1, 2016, the hospitals charge Rs 1,500 per/day for ICU and Rs 740/day for a general ward bed from other states. However, the hospitals brushed off the claims saying that the additional fee was imposed after the implementation of Bhamashah Yojana.
It was done to ensure that the hospitals imposed this fee to ensure that only the rightful beneficiaries of Bhamashah scheme receive free treatment and direct/indirect benefits of government schemes.
On a positive note, it’s a good thing that Rajasthan hospitals are attracting worldwide recognition.
