13 April,2011 07:02 AM IST | | Vinod Kumar Menon
Daily functioning of hospitals is affected, as they wait for the government to clear the huge debt it incurred while treating policemen and their families in 2010-11
The onus of looking after the health of the state's cops, supposed to be the government's responsibility, may have shifted to the state's hospitals which are waiting for it to clear a bill amounting to over Rs 19 crore for treating cops and their kin in the year 2010-11.
With this, the Maharashtra Police Kutumb Arogya Yojana (MPKAY), the cashless mediclaim insurance scheme which covers policemen and their family members, has become a burden for the facilities, as some of them are paying out of their pockets to ensure continued treatment for the law enforcing agents.
Cops speak
Patient: Shahpari Aamin Mulla (76)
Status: Mother of policeman
Admitted to: Jupiter hospital, Thane
Period: Jan 1-18, 2011
Ailment: Cardiac problem
Cost of treatment: Rs 7.25 lakh
Abdul Rashid Mulla, the patient's son attached to Thane (rural) police, "I am thankful to the government for introducing the MPKAY scheme for policemen. It would not have been possible for me to meet the financial expenditure for my mother's treatment otherwise."
Patient: Anuradha Surve (39)
Status: Wife of constable
Admitted to: Jupiter hospital, Thane
Period: Feb 7 to March 3, 2011
Ailment: Heart surgery (double valve replacement)
Cost of treatment: Rs 7.75 lakh
Constable Surve, the patient's husband, said, "I am head constable with the Thane police commissionerate. I cannot imagine the consequences we would have had to face if my wife's heart surgery had been delayed. It would have become difficult for me to collect the huge sum for her operation, as I have to provide for my children's education and my ailing mother."
MiD DAY has documents to show that, as of March 31, 2011, the state government owes over Rs 19 crore to 187 hospitals across the state for treating nearly 5,054 policemen and their 7,165 family members, including spouse, children and parents, for various health ailments in the last financial year.
Statistical figures reveals that policemen and their relatives have been treated for various ailments. The bill - for a total of 2,235 cases of cardiac emergency, 977 cases of cancer, 1,217 of genitor-urinary emergencies, 1,087 of acute abdominal pain, and 892 of pulmonary emergency - is still pending.
Sources from the office of the Director General of Police revealed that some hospitals have expressed their dissatisfaction over the pending bills, which is affecting their daily operations. In fact, one hospital in the state denied admission to a policeman, citing the dues.
Affected hospitals
Praveen Goveas, manager of recovery at Ruby Hall hospital in Pune, confirmed the dues. "Though we received a payment for November 2010 last month, the government still owes us approximately Rs 2 crore.
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The delay in receiving funds does have an impact on the day-to-day functioning of the hospital," Goveas said, adding, "And under MPKAY the hospital cannot have direct communication with the police or the government. It has to be through the insurance agency. But we are sure that it will not be a bad debt for us."
Cardiologist Dr Bapu Kandekar, a trustee of Pune's Noble hospital, revealed that the government owes approximately Rs 42 lakh to them.
He said, "We are in touch with the authorities, asking them to clear the dues as soon as possible, as it impacts our operations.
The companies from whom we procure equipment like disposable material and stent used for angioplasty do not give us credit facilities. I hope the dues are cleared faster, in the interest of the services we provide."
However, Dr Ajay Thakker, chairman and CEO of Jupiter Hospitals and Scan Centres, has a different say. "As far as the police force is concerned, we consider the hospital as a service centre and not a profit-making entity.
That the payments would be delayed was clear to us when we agreed for the MPKAY scheme for policemen and their family members.
We are sure it will not be a bad debt. The payment will come for sure. We will continue giving the services irrespective of the payment issue."u00a0
The Other Side
Authorities cited adherence to procedures as a reason for the delay. Additional Director General of Police (Administration) KK Pathak said, "There may be a little delay in clearing some bills received from hospitals all over the state, due to procedural requirements while scrutinising them. Also, in case of ambiguity, the bills are sent back to the hospital seeking clarification. The entire process takes time before payments are cleared. Though I do not have ready details, I can assure that payments are being made regularly to the hospitals." Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Umeshchandra Sarangi said, "I cannot comment offhand. I will have to look into the case before making any official statement."
