PANAJI
The State government has saved over Rs 60 crore towards mediclaim reimbursements thanks to the cardiology unit at the Goa Medical College (GMC) which started performing heart surgeries from April 2014. The unit formally called The Centre for Cardiovascular and Thoracic Sciences (CCTS) was inaugurated in February 2014 and it started operations from April 2014, saving the government the money it would have paid individuals towards reimbursements if procedures were done in private hospitals. Sources revealed that an open heart surgery at a private hospital costs anywhere from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 4.5 lakh, out of which the State government reimburses upto Rs 3 lakh if done at a private hospital. If all open heart surgeries were to happen outside the GMC, it would cost the government a whopping Rs 24 crore on mediclaim expenses. Similarly, treatment for coronary angioplasty costs upwards of Rs 1.5 lakh even with one stent and it can cost in the range of Rs 2.5 lakh for two stents and more if more stents are required. For 1,678 coronary angioplasty procedures, even at a conservative estimate of Rs 2 lakh, it would amount Rs 33.6 crore. This means that open heart surgeries and coronary angioplasty, put together, would have cost the State government Rs 57.6 crore, if done outside GMC. Both these treatments formed the bulk of medical care provided by the cardio unit of GMC to patients in Goa. There are 30 other procedures being done at GMC including coronary angiogram, which costs between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 at a private hospital and permanent pacemaker, which costs around Rs 90,000. If cost of all these procedures is added, then it would amount well in excess of Rs 60 crore. Apart from these savings, the cardiology unit has made best of cardiology treatments available to people of Goa pretty much at their door-step. Prior to 2014, GMC didn t have cardio facility and patients had to travel to Bangalore, Mumbai, Belgaum and other neighbouring towns for treatment. Patients would pay for the treatment and the government would reimburse them later under the mediclaim policy, but it used to take lot of time, all of which has been taken care of thanks to GMC s cardio unit. Dr Guruprasad D Naik, head of department of cardiology, GMC, said, “Ever since we started this unit, we have done over 6,000 procedures;
Open heart surgery at private hospital costs between `4-4.5 lakh Government reimburses upto `3 lakh if done at private hospital If all such surgeries were at private hospitals, govt would have to pay `24 cr on mediclaim expenses Coronary angioplasties conducted at GMC s Cardio unit saved govt another `33.6 cr Around 1,678 coronary angioplasty procedures conducted at GMC 30 other procedures performed including coronary angiogram, costing `10 to `20,000 at private hospitals and permanent pacemaker, which costs around `90,000
of which, 3,749 are coronary angiogram, 1,678 are coronary angioplasty, 133 are peripheral angiogram, 69 are peripheral angioplasty, 125 are permanent pacemaker and 43 are temporary pacemaker, among other procedures”. Over and above this, Dr Shirish Borkar, chief surgeon at CCTS, disclosed that more than 800 open heart surgeries were carried out in just over two years.
