Medical fraternity threatens protests after R50-lakh insurance claims of 58 private doctors, who died on duty, were rejected
Representation pic/Ashish Raje
Stop insulting Corona Warriors." The Indian Medical Association's Maharashtra branch has come down heavily on the state health department for being silent on the Rs 50 lakh health insurance coverage, which has been rejected to private doctors.
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The IMA Maharashtra has threatened a state-wide protest if the government fails to acknowledge the compensation, the Centre had announced for the frontline warriors in case of death while treating COVID-19 patients.
Also read: India has lost 450+ doctors to COVID-19
Out of 450-plus doctors who have died on COVID-19 duty, 58 were private doctors from the state. Many families are now left in the lurch in the rural areas, as the doctors were the sole breadwinner. Their next of kin filed for the insurance claim, but their applications were rejected. They were told that the deceased were not a government doctor so the families are not entitled to the insurance cover. The families have been told that the cover is only for the doctors working in the public health department.
The IMA-Maharashtra has expressed its displeasure and raised its concern with various government bureaucrats and the health minister time and again, but has only got false assurances.
Residents of Anmol Fortune gets tested for COVID-19 at a camp in Thakur Complex, Kandivli, on October 2. File pic/Satej Shinde
mid-day had in its September 30 article, titled "India has lost 450+ doctors to COVID-19" highlighted the plight of front-line warriors, especially young medical professionals who are dying of COVID-19.
IMA-Maharashtra President Dr Avinash Bhondwe said, "The services of all the private hospitals and clinics are acquired by the Government of Maharashtra for COVID-19 duties. On this basis, the private doctors are also eligible for the Corona Kavach Health Insurance policy, which even the government has accepted in writing."
"Fifty-eight doctors have succumbed to COVID-19 across the state, and the Maharashtra government is rejecting all the applications for the insurance cover submitted by their next of kin, on the grounds that they were not government servants. This is nothing but an insult to the Corona Warriors who have laid their lives fighting the pandemic. And the worst part is the government has not even sent a condolence letter to the bereaved families," said Dr Bhondwe.
He added, "IMA-Maharashtra strongly condemns this apathy towards the frontline martyrs and appeals to the state government to sanction all the claims as accepted. Otherwise, there is a strong discontentment among all the 2 lakh private doctors in the state, and they will decide the future course of action that will include agitation and protests."
Dr Avinash Bhondwe, president, IMA-Maharashtra and Dr Santosh Kulkarni from IMA Legal cell
Dr Santosh Kulkarni, president of Maharashtra State PCPNDT, Legal Cell, IMA, Kuduwadi, Solapur, said, "Government and private doctors are playing a major role in treating COVID-19 patients, but none of the frontline warriors who laid their lives fighting the pandemic were recognised for their brave act, either by the government or the politicians. Their families were even deprived of the insurance cover of R50 lakh that was assured by both the central and the state governments under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package – Insurance Scheme for Health care workers fighting COVID-19."
Dr Kulkarni added, "It is now a blame game between the politicians and the state administration to divert the attention of the public from the COVID Crises Management set up by the state government, so that people do not ask questions about the utilisations of funds. This is unfortunate that the government has stooped to a level of blame game, which will have an adverse impact on the morale of the medical fraternity."
The issue
According to IMA-Maharashtra, since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Maharashtra, 45,000 doctors of IMA-Maharashtra, along with government doctors, resident doctors and private doctors of other branches have been working day and night.
These doctors have been referred to as Corona Warriors many times by the government. The Centre had announced a post-mortem insurance scheme of Rs 50 lakh for doctors providing medical services in the wake of the pandemic. The state government had initially included only government employed doctors under the scheme.
As the number of doctors and beds in government hospitals began to dwindle, the Maharashtra government acquired the services of all private doctors and private hospitals. Subsequently, many private hospitals were recognised as COVID-19 hospitals. Private doctors worked in private as well as the government COVID-19 hospitals, at the request of the state government.
In an official meeting held on August 11, 2020, with the representatives of IMA, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope had agreed that the Rs 50 lakh cover would be applicable to the private doctors too. On August 17, a circular was issued by Dr Sudhakar Shinde, chief executive officer, Maharashtra State Public Health Department and State Health Insurance Society.
"All talks but no action," Dr Bhondwe had said in the talks held with Tope and Dr Shinde on September 15. "We were told that the scheme belongs to the central government. However, the health minister promised us that the issue will be resolved in a positive manner after talking to the Union health minister."
He added, "But in the past four weeks, despite repeated reminders, no response has been received from the state government. On the other hand, the process of rejecting the applications of these martyred doctors are going on. We would like to tell the Maharashtra government, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Health Minister Rajesh G Tope and Principal Health Secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas to stop this insult. The families of all these doctors have been ignored by the government."
"The IMA-Maharashtra had also requested the government that besides the insurance, these warriors should get posthumous honour for their bravery. However, neither the honour nor the simple condolences have been sent to their families. And it is unfortunate."
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