Kozhikode: The Kerala government’s order to end the Karunya Benevolent Fund is contrary to Finance Minister Thomas Isaac's assertion that none of the medical benefits under the scheme will be lost.
Needy and poor patients will not be able to avail of the four key benefits offered under the Karunya scheme once it is transferred to the State Health Agency, said a directive issued by State Health Agency (SHA) executive director Ratan Khelkar on August 24.
Hospital officials are concerned that the denial of these benefits from September 1 could lead to disputes with patients. Although an explanation was sought from the finance and health ministers over this, none was forthcoming.
The instructions issued to bring the Karunya Benevolent Fund under the purview of the SHA make it clear that benefits meant for those who are not inpatients will not be available once the scheme is transferred to SHA. As a result, kidney and cancer patients will be affected the most. Assistance to organ donors will also be denied. The same order, however, states that there will be unlimited assistance to haemophilia patients.
The government has decided to end the Karunya scheme on August 31 and shift all the beneficiaries to KASP (Karunya Arogya Suraksha Paddhathi) under the SHA. From September 1, the benefits will be available only for inpatient treatment at hospitals empanelled in the SHA.
Private hospitals have also been informed that the agreement signed by the KBF administrator with those that are accredited will not be recognised from September 30.
Scheme will continue unchanged: Isaac
The Karunya Benevolent Fund will continue unchanged and the only difference will be that the scheme will now be handled by the health department instead of the finance ministry, Kerala finance minister TM Thomas Isaac said.
All insurance plans have to be implemented by the health department and that is why the scheme is being transferred to that department, he said. The transfer was delayed by three months as the health department had not completed the preparations for the transfer, he said.
Chennithala questions minister's claim
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has said that the finance minister's claim that the benefits under the Karunya Benevolent Fund will continue despite the government issuing the order to transfer it to the SHA amounts to cheating.
The order makes it clear that four benefits offered by the scheme will not be available once the transfer is done. This would, in effect, mean the end of the scheme.
Chennithala demanded that the order be withdrawn and the Karunya scheme be maintained in the current form.
