Health and Family Welfare Minister of Punjab, Balbir Singh Sidhu announced that the government has decided to provide free treatment to Covid-19 patients under the Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojna in empanelled private hospitals, which is a big relief for the weaker and impoverished parts of society.
The facility will be provided at cap prices ranging from Rs 8,000 to Rs 18,000 per day in facilities equipped to provide Covid-19 treatment, according to the health minister, which are the same costs that have been set for private hospitals in the state for the general public.
He stated that after removing the cost payable by the insurance firm from the cap rates, the state government will shoulder the total differential treatment cost. Sidhu stated firmly that cap rates cover everything, including the bed, PPE kits, prescriptions, consumables, monitoring/nursing care, doctor's charge, investigations, oxygen, and so on.
The minister stated that SSBY beneficiaries can directly visit empanelled private hospitals for Covid-19 treatment without the need for a referral from a public hospital, and that this initiative will provide significant relief to the state's most vulnerable and deprived citizens, who will now be able to access level 2 and level 3 treatment care in empanelled private hospitals.
He explained that previously, treatment at these empanelled private hospitals was paid for using the SSBY plan rates, which range from Rs 1,800 to Rs 4,500, which were too low for the hospital to cover the costs of treating a Covid-19 patient, which included additional costs like as PPE kits, masks, consumables, isolation, and so on.
Sidhu stated that while Covid-19 recipient patients were treated for free in public hospitals from the start, the state government opted to pay the additional costs and allow free treatment of Covid-19 beneficiaries at empanelled private hospitals at cap rates under the plan to bring relief to a significant section of the population.
The Ayushman Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana has exhibited constant growth and uptake across the state, according to the health minister. AB-SSBY has been speeding its growth trajectory with over 6.77 lakh treatments costing Rs 748 crores, 867 empanelled institutions (241 public hospitals and 626 private hospitals), and over 76% of entitled families receiving e cards.
He explained that due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has engulfed the entire state and overwhelmed the healthcare infrastructure, public hospitals have had to reduce elective procedures and non-Covid therapy in order to focus on addressing emergency Covid-19 crises.
According to Sidhu, in order to provide hassle-free care to the scheme's participants, the state government recently de-reserved 55 government hospitals' reserved surgical services, allowing beneficiaries to have these treatments from empanelled private hospitals as well.
The health and family welfare minister highlighted that harnessing the ever-growing potential of the private healthcare sector, as well as considerably improving the infrastructure and quality of treatment provided at public hospitals, is critical for the successful implementation of AB-SSBY to ensure poor and marginalized people have access to vital healthcare.
For details click - https://sha.punjab.gov.in/shapunjab/index.php
