Malappuram: In a potentially devastating setback for the people of Malappuram, private hospitals in the district are on their way to scrap treatments under government medical schemes, notably the Karunya plan.
Private hospitals have issued a warning to the state government, indicating their intention to cease providing treatments under either the Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP) or the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) scheme if the pending dues are not settled promptly. A few hospitals in Parappanangadi have already discontinued treatment under the scheme due to unresolved financial issues.
The government has fallen short in settling approximately Rs 100 crore owed to the 80 hospitals enrolled in the scheme from the district. This outstanding amount has been pending for the majority of hospitals since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the hospital representatives, the government had assured them of settling outstanding dues by November during a meeting with the State Health Agency (SHA) in September. However, the government has failed to fulfil this commitment.
A striking 80 per cent of individuals seeking medical treatment from a hospital with a total occupancy of 100 beds in Malappuram are beneficiaries of the KASP scheme. Unfortunately, the prolonged delay in reimbursement has placed many of these private hospitals on the brink of closure.
According to C P Noushad Niyas, a representative of the hospitals enrolled in the scheme, several hospitals in the district are awaiting crores of rupees from the government under the scheme. Niyas pointed out that, according to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the government is obligated to reimburse the insurance amount of a patient within 15 days of the bill being issued by the hospital.
P Muhammed Junais, a hospital director in the district, expressed concern over the financial situation, stating that hospitals expecting Rs 2 crore have only received Rs 10 lakh so far. Many hospitals heavily rely on the revenue generated under the scheme, and Junais emphasized that they may be compelled to take stringent actions, including the possibility of withdrawing from the scheme.
The Karunya scheme is currently facilitating an average daily admission of 15 patients in the district, with a notable concentration of beneficiaries in rural areas. According to State Health Agency (SHA) data, the scheme extends coverage to an impressive 40 per cent of the population, totalling 64 lakh beneficiaries, primarily from rural communities. However, the state is now reportedly facing an accumulated obligation of approximately Rs 450 crore to hospitals participating in the scheme.
