Latest news with #MPJAY
Time of India
3 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
At least 50% of medical procedures should be done in govt facilities: CM
Nashik: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday announced a significant overhaul of the state's healthcare system. Speaking at the inauguration of "Centre for Health, Applied Knowledge and Research Autonomy" (Chakra) at the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) in Nashik, Fadnavis said his goal for govt medical facilities to become so robust that they handle at least 50% of the medical procedures currently covered by the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MPJAY). The CM highlighted that 13 crore people in the state are covered for up to Rs5 lakh under the MPJAY scheme. He emphasized his directive to the health and medical education departments to strengthen the secondary and tertiary healthcare systems to achieve the 50% target, thereby ensuring these facilities benefit from the scheme's procedures. Fadnavis affirmed the govt's commitment to revamping the healthcare system. He noted that tertiary health centers are currently burdened with responsibilities typically handled by the primary health centers. The govt, in order to address this, plans to fortify primary and secondary health centers, enabling tertiary centers to operate on a hub-and-spoke model. This strategic approach aims to expand healthcare accessibility across Maharashtra. The CM said over the past 25 years, MUHS has done extraordinary work. Universities are expected to conduct research and work as centres of different issues. If varsities limit themselves to the management of their institutes and syllabus, they will not grow. The best universities in the world are centres of excellence, centres of incubation, and they are involved in research, startups.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Proposed cancer hospital's tender hinges on PCMC standing committee meeting next week
Pune: PCMC's plan to set up a dedicated cancer treatment facility gained some momentum two years after its announcement, as a senior civic official said a private operator was being finalised to execute the project. The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) had floated a tender for the project last year, but a poor response from private operators caused multiple delays. "We extended the tender deadline at least thrice over the past year because of the poor response from operators," the senior PCMC official said. The proposal to award the contract would be presented in the standing committee meeting next week for the final approval. The facility would be developed under a design-build-operate-transfer (DBOT) model through a public private partnership (PPP). The operator would be responsible for operating the hospital for 30 years and then hand over the infrastructure to the PCMC. The cancer hospital would be set up on a 34,868sqft plot near the new Thergaon civic hospital. It will have a 60-bed capacity initially, with plans to expand it to a 100-bed facility in the future. According to the civic officials, once the work begins, the hospital is likely to be ready within two years. The PCMC at present does not have a cancer treatment facility at any of its civic hospitals across the city. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Scarlett Johansson Shows Off Her Jaw-Dropping Figure - See Photos 33 Bridges Undo The chemotherapy service was briefly introduced at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital with support from visiting specialists, but later it was discontinued. This has forced many cancer patients to seek expensive treatment in private hospitals. Dr Laxman Gophane, the medical officer of the PCMC's health department, said the operator would be responsible for constructing the facility and installing medical infrastructure. It is estimated to cost around Rs200 crore. "Under the agreement, treatment costs will be regulated and limited to rates prescribed under the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MPJAY) and the Central Govt Health Scheme (CGHS)," he said. The hospital will offer comprehensive cancer care, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgeries and counselling. It will cater to different types of cancers such as breast, lung, prostate and cervical cancers. Advanced medical equipment, including linear accelerators, brachytherapy units and PET-CT scanners, will be available.
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Despite 5L govt cover, heart patient relies on charity for op
Mumbai: Riddled for a decade with a heart ailment described by doctors as a "poor man's burden", 24-year-old Rinki Sudhar finally got treated at civic-run Sion Hospital last week. The rheumatic heart disease (RHD) she contracted at age 13 had constricted her mitral heart valve, leading to persistent cough, sleeplessness and breathlessness. Multiple misdiagnoses meant the UP resident had visited multiple hospitals across India, but the disease stayed true to its moniker. Despite her family being insured for Rs 5 lakh per year under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), she needed charity for the procedure. Doctors led by cardiologist Dr Milind Phadke at Sion Hospital arranged for Rs 50,000 through a donor for a balloon mitral valvuloplasty (BMV). You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Public hospitals don't charge surgeon's fees or levy room charges, but patients require to pay for medical devices or instruments. This is where public insurance schemes like the state's Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MPJAY) or PMJAY come in. But Rinki was only eligible for the latter as she was not a Maharashtra resident. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Insurance Gaps Sudhar's case highlights the gaps and inadequacies in India's public health insurance schemes. According to PMJAY documents, the reimbursement for BMV was Rs 27,500 in 2020 and increased to Rs 35,700 recently. However, Sion Hospital's latest internal records show reimbursement of up to Rs 27,500 under PMJAY; in practice, only Rs 20,000 is allowed. The cost of the balloon catheter alone is Rs 50,000, but even the state scheme (MPJAY) didn't cover BMV completely until last year. "When Rinki's case came up, there was a kind donor who wished to fund complete treatment of a cardiac patient. All the costs were taken care of by them, and that saved her life," said Dr Phadke, who operated on Sudhar. Poor Man's Burden RHD is rooted in deprivation. It begins with a sore throat caused by an untreated streptococcus infection, which can trigger an immune response that damages the mitral heart valve over time. Rinki's father Ram (57), a watchman at an Andheri housing society, said her condition was often misdiagnosed. "Some doctors told us she had TB, some gave her vitamin injections," said Ram, who hails from Amethi. Dr Pratap Nathani, head of the cardiology department at Sion Hospital, said, "Factors such as malnutrition, lack of early access to diagnosis and treatment contribute to RHD." Although Rinki's condition became unbearable in the past six months, it was only last month that RHD was diagnosed through a 2D-echo scan at a hospital in Sultanpur. She was referred to a govt hospital in Kanpur. "There was a long wait list, so we were sent to Lucknow," said Ram. In the meantime, they got their Ayushman Bharat card, and rushed to Mumbai. A resident at the building he works at helped him with Sion Hospital. Recurring Troubles State-run JJ Hospital, Byculla, treated around 200 RHD patients last year. "Most were covered by MJPJAY," said a cardiologist, adding problems arose when a patient was from outside Maharashtra. "We struggle with PMJAY as we need to approach trusts and donors to cover costs." A cardiologist from Parel's civic-run KEM Hospital said they used cross-subsidisation. "For some patients, the insurance amount is more than enough, so we use the excess amount to fund the deficit in another patient's coverage." A former CEO of National Health Authority, which implements PMJAY, said, "There is a well-established mechanism in NHA to fix the rates. NHA doesn't fix the rates unilaterally and state considerations are taken into account.'' MJPJAY CEO Aannasaheb Chavan said there were similar issues at state-level, but most have been resolved since the state and union schemes merged. "We are also in the process of reviewing rates in the combined scheme,'" he said. A committee, headed by public health department head Amgothu Sri Ranga Naik, has been set up. Dr Soumitra Ghosh from TISS's Centre for Health Policy, Planning and Management said, "It's common for patients under PMJAY to incur hefty out-of-pocket expenditures.'' Although PMJAY budget increased over the years, its beneficiaries too increased. "But the rates for specific procedures didn't increase accordingly," he said, adding, "Some health economists estimate that if the scheme truly offers coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family as promised, then the entire health budget would need to be allocated to it in order to keep it functional without any issues. Since that is not the amount of money currently allocated, the actual coverage cost is much lower than what is promised." Not the End Rinki, who is still in hospital, said she can now sleep without coughing. "I will look for a job, hopefully as a worker in a school," she said. But her cycle of deprivation has far from ended: The new valve will hold for at least 10 years before the narrowing restarts.
