Cabinet clears free treatment scheme

JAMSHEDPUR: Patients suffering from terminal diseases and acid attack victims in Jharkhand can now access better treatment, costing up to ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh in Christian Medical College Hospital (CMCH) Vellore, Tata Main Hospital (TMH), and Tata hospitals in Mumbai under the CM Terminal Disease Fund (CMTDF), people aware of the development said on Friday.

“I have fulfilled my promise... TMH and its hospitals in Mumbai and CMCH-Vellore have now been empanelled with the CMTDF scheme. People of Jharkhand can now receive better treatment in these hospitals under the CMTDF. PM Narendra Modi has launched Ayushman Bharat from Jharkhand, but TMH was not empanelled. The state cabinet has approved this on Thursday evening,” Banna Gupta, Jharkhand health minsanction ister, told HT on Friday.

The state cabinet also approved the simplification of the rules of the CMTDF scheme in its meeting on Thursday evening.

According to people close to the matter, the district civil surgeons have been empowered to treatment costs up to ₹5 lakh, while treatment costs between ₹5 lakh and ₹10 lakh will have to be approved by the state health department level committee.

Earlier, an order issued by the state government on September 12, 2022, authorised the director of the Jharkhand Arogya Society to sanction such claims of treatment costs. Under the scheme, patients suffering from diseases like cancer, kidney transplants, critical liver ailments, and acid attacks will be able to benefit from the state grant for treatment costs.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Tuhin A Sinha has written to Gupta, requesting him to immediately implement the latest health benefit package (HBP) under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

“I have personally written to the Jharkhand health minister, Banna Gupta, requesting him to implement the latest HBP under Ayushman Bharat in Jharkhand, explaining to him the difficulties faced by the Meherbai Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital in Jamshedpur in its absence. I am sure other hospitals and patients across the state are also facing similar difficulties. I would also request the CM Champai Soren for his personal intervention,” Tuhin tweeted on X (formerly Twitter).

“During my recent visit to the MTMH in Jamshedpur, its director, Dr Sujata Mitra, told me that 70% of the patients there come from poor families, and are enrolled under Ayushman Bharat. Non-implementation of the latest HBP version of Ayushman Bharat imposed several constraints upon the hospital as under the latest HBP, multiple chemotherapy drugs can be approved together. Besides, the new version offers financial support for palliative care and advanced radiation packages, which were not covered under the older version,” the BJP leader added.

TMH and its hospitals in Mumbai and CMCH-Vellore have been empanelled with CMTDF scheme. People can now receive better treatment in these hospitals.

BANNA GUPTA, Jharkhand health minister