PANAJI
State Government has decided to charge patients from outside the State availing of treatment at the government-run Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim from January 1.
The charges to be levied for patients from outside the State would be 20 per cent of the rates prescribed for ‘C' category hospitals in the Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana (DDSSY).
The government has decided to implement these charges in two phases. In the first phase, patients would be charged for 181 procedures prescribed under DDSSY and for radiological and laboratory diagnostic services.
The government has also decided to make it mandatory for Goans to carry their DDSSY cards to avail of benefits at government hospitals from January 1. However, Goans who are not registered under DDSSY will have to carry their identity cards for availing of benefits at GMC and the other three hospitals.
In addition to GMC, the government has also decided to charge patients from outside the State in Hospicio, Margao; District Hospital, Mapusa and Sub-district Hospital, Ponda. Nonetheless, the government would also charge Rs 50 per bed per day for patients from other states.
Addressing a press conference, Health Minister said, "After serious deliberations and getting all government approvals, we have decided to charge nominal fees for patients from outside the State taking treatment at GMC and three other government-run hospitals. They will be charged 20 per cent of the rates prescribed for ‘C' category hospitals under DDSSY, which are the lowest compared to other categories. We have also decided to charge for all diagnostics and blood tests as we spend huge sums of money on reagents."
He, however, said that poor persons and emergency cases will be exempted from these charges.
"We have also had deliberations with Maharashtra and told them that all emergency cases and poor people will be exempted. Dean and Medical Superintendent of GMC and Heads of Departments will have the power to exempt charges if the case is poor and genuine", he stated.
"We are putting this system in place mainly to ensure that people from Goa get the maximum benefits as far as healthcare is concerned. This was required to be done as GMC was getting loaded beyond its capacity and making it difficult to function", he stated.
Pointing out that people are not using DDSSY cards despite swiping facility, he said, "This year the revenue of GMC through DDSSY was merely Rs 17 crore. We have done a basic assessment and learnt that it has been very nominal in Hospicio, while sub-district hopsial at Ponda has been more as they have been asking for the card. Goa is unique as DDSSY is aadhaar linked. We are also exploring the possibility to rope in GEL as they have an entire database of the families insured under DDSSY. If the patient comes without the card, the charges would be deducted from his card based on the database available."
