Hospitals have refused cashless treatment under CGHS in the recent past

In the recent past, some hospitals have discontinued extending cashless treatmentunder the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Bharati Pravin Pawar ,said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The Union Minister named Max Group of Hospitals, New Delhi ; Parvati Hospital, Lifeline Hospital and Billroth Hospital at Chennai; Max Super Speciality Hospital, Dehradun; Fortis Hospital, Mohali; and Max Hospital, Mohali in her response as those who had reportedly stopped giving cashless facilities.

Some other hospitals have also requested for exiting from the panel for various reasons, and their request is considered as per the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). Another hospital, Manipal Hospital of New Delhi that had earlier requested for exit subsequently withdrew it, and is still on the panel.

Delayed payment
According to the Minister, the settlement of Health Care Organisations’(HCOs) bills is a “dynamic process” and there is “always some time lag between submission of bills by HCOs and their final settlement”. Bill processing is shifted to the National Health Authority(NHA)’s IT-Platform since June 2021 for expeditious settlement thereof, she added.

During the Financial Year 2021-22, bills amounting to approximately ₹ 1300 crore were paid to the empanelled HCOs, and in the current year (2022-23), so far bills worth approximately ₹600 crore have already been paid. In her response to the Upper House she said, “As on date, bills amounting to approximately ₹ 1400 crore are received for payment.”

Doctor-patient ratio
Meanwhile, India’s doctor–patient ratio currently stands at 1: 834 which is better than the WHO average of 1:1100, the Union Minister said in the Upper House. According to her, there are 13,08,009 allopathic doctors registered with the State medical councils and National Medical Commission. There are 5.65 lakh AYUSH doctors. “Assuming 80 per cent availability of registered allopathic doctors, and 5.65 lakh AYUSH doctors, the doctor-population ratio in the country is 1:834,” Pawar said.

There are 34.33 lakh registered nursing personnel and 13 lakh Allied Healthcare professionals in the country. The Hindu BusinessLine