Aizawl, Oct 19 The Congress on Monday called for greater transparency and fairness in the implementation of the Mizoram Universal Health Care Scheme (MUHCS), while urging the state government to expedite the inclusion of private hospitals that are still outside the initiative.
Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) spokesperson Dr Lallianchhunga said the Congress has refrained from criticising the MUHCS since its introduction under the present Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) government, keeping in mind the interests of patients benefiting from the scheme.
“Healthcare is being funded with public money and every eligible person should be able to access the scheme. The Congress demands that MUHCS registration fee be reduced to make it affordable for economically weaker sections,” Lallianchhunga said at a press conference here.
Reacting to a recent controversy over the government’s agreement with Synod Hospital, Lallianchhunga said the Congress did not object to the treatment rates fixed for the hospital, but questioned the lack of transparency in the negotiation process.
“MUHCS funds do not belong to the health minister; they are public funds,” he said, while alleging that substantial amounts were collected through deductions from government employees’ salaries and pensioners’ pensions, besides registration fees paid by general beneficiaries.
He questioned why the government could negotiate favourable rates with private hospitals outside Mizoram but did not similarly explore agreements with more private hospitals within the state.
Lallianchhunga said only nine private hospitals in Mizoram remained outside the MUHCS network and claimed that most had already expressed willingness to join the scheme according to their respective grades.
Non-Government Hospital Association of Mizoram (NGHAM) had last week said that its member hospitals, which are yet to join MUHCS, would be willing to come under the scheme if the government offered rates similar to those agreed upon with Synod Hospital.
In a notification issued the following day, the state government had said that all non-empanelled hospitals with facilities comparable to Synod Hospital are free to join MUHCS at rates agreed upon with the church-run hospital, amid a controversy over reimbursement rates.
However, NGHAM argued that most of the private hospitals yet to join MUHCS already submitted the required documents and were awaiting government action.
The association also said it would prefer all member hospitals to join the scheme together, warning that participation by only some could adversely affect those remaining outside it.
The ZPM government headed by Chief Minister Lalduhoma launched MUHCS 1.0 in March last year to provide cashless treatment at government facilities, as well as empanelled private and church-run hospitals in and outside the state.
The second phase of the healthcare scheme was unveiled by the chief minister in March this year. The scheme provides up to Rs 5 lakh health cover to general beneficiaries on payment of an annual fee or premium based on their choice of ward.
Government employees, including contractual and muster-roll staff, contribute a monthly fee ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 1,500 based on their pay scales to avail of unlimited cover.
Pensioners and their spouses can also avail up to Rs 24 lakh cover per financial year on surrendering their fixed medical allowance of Rs 1,000 per month as subscription under the scheme.
More than 3.2 lakh beneficiary families have been enrolled under phase two of the healthcare scheme, officials said.
(PTI News)
