Doctors should not refuse treatment under IPF scheme

Hindustan Times

11-06-2025

PUNE: Towards effective implementation of the Indigent Patients Fund (IPF) scheme and putting an end to discrimination against needy patients, the state government has directed the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) to instruct doctors in charitable hospitals not to deny treatment or examination to patients from economically weaker sections, officials said.
A government resolution (GR) was issued on Tuesday granting permission to establish a Special Inspection Team under the charity commissioner, medical education and drugs department; and Charitable Hospital Helpdesk for implementation of the IPF scheme. The team will include the charity commissioner, Maharashtra or a nominated member; principal secretary, medical education and drugs department or a nominated member; and head of the Charitable Hospital Helpdesk or a nominated member.
Furthermore, the GR states that all charitable hospitals must implement various health schemes of the central and state governments. The departments must prepare and submit to the law and judiciary department a list of hospitals that have received land or concessions from local municipal corporations or central/state government/district collector's office. The decision was taken during a meeting headed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on April 23, 2025, to review the functioning of the Charitable Hospital Helpdesk, officials said.
For effective implementation of the IPF scheme, the charity commissioner's office must ensure that charitable hospitals display the status of vacant beds, government health schemes, and other related information. This updated information must also be available online and on a dashboard. Besides, disciplinary action should be taken under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950 and directions issued by the Bombay High Court (HC) against charitable hospitals that avoid implementing the scheme or do not use the online system developed for the scheme.
Rameshwar Naik, head of the Special Help Cell, Maharashtra, said that the decision has been taken by the chief minister with the aim that no needy patient should be deprived of treatment for financial reasons. 'An inspection committee will be constituted to conduct an audit of charitable hospitals. The government has also approved 186 posts of charitable health workers that will be filled through outsourcing. These posts will be filled on priority and will assist eligible patients to avail the treatment,' he said.
Meanwhile, the government said that to determine the economic status of patients, beneficiary patients must submit any of the following documents namely income certificate from tehsildar, ration card/BPL card or PAN card (if available). The revenue and forests department must instruct tehsildars to verify and issue income certificates after thorough checks.
All charitable hospitals should operate only one IPF account. If multiple IPF accounts exist, the funds should be consolidated into one. A centralised system should be created for monitoring these funds through the charity commissioner's office.
The facility
There are 58 charitable hospitals in Pune, 74 in Mumbai, and 430 across the rest of the state. The IPF scheme was framed by the Bombay HC and rolled out in September 2006; all charitable hospitals in the state have to allocate two per cent of their gross billing to help indigent patients. All charitable hospitals have the mandate to earmark and reserve 10% of their beds for indigent patients to be treated for free, and 10% of beds for economically weaker sections. This aid has to be in the form of free treatment to those with an annual income below ₹1.8 lakh, and at 50% discounted billing for patients with an annual income below ₹3.60 lakh.