EWS patients’ income limit for treatment may be doubled

GURUGRAM: To provide relief to patients belonging to economically weaker section (EWS), the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) has proposed to double their income limit from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 per month for getting treatment in private hospitals.

Officials said that the objective is to ensure that more people from EWS category become eligible for treatment in private hospitals, which have been allotted land at concessional rates by the authority.

The proposal was made during a recent meeting of HSVP and health department with top private hospitals in the city. During the meeting, HSVP officials also suggested that the cost of medicines should be capped for such patients and preferably generic medicines should be prescribed so that they can bear the expenses of medical treatment, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

At present, any person having a BPL card, class IV employee of Haryana government or undertaking, or any other person having monthly income not more than ₹5,000 is considered as belonging to EWS category and entitled to concessional treatment in private hospitals.

The meeting on Friday was chaired by Jitender Yadav, administrator, HSVP, Gururgam, in which representatives from private hospitals, which have taken land from HSVP, were present.

“We will take up the proposal of increasing the EWS criteria from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000. It will help the weaker section,” said Yadav, adding that the reason for these measures is that even the discounted bill for treatment is beyond the payment ability of such patients.

As per the HSVP policy of allotment of land at concessional rates to hospitals, outdoor patients of EWS category shall be provided free treatment, and for indoor patients 10% beds shall be reserved free of cost for such patients.

Vivek Kalia, estate officer II, HSVP, also directed the hospitals in the meeting to share composite data of EWS/BPL patients attended from January 2020 till June 2020.