The Health Ministry has asked the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to furnish information about review of user charges. This, when the institute is planning to do away with fees for diagnostic procedures like blood tests and X-rays which cost less than Rs 500.
On the directions of the Finance Ministry, the Union Health Ministry had, a number of times, asked AIIMS to review and revise its user charges which have not been changed in the last 20 years.
According to a senior government official, the Prime Minister's Office wants user charges at all government institutes to be reviewed.
Another official said that every year AIIMS demands additional allocation, amounting to over Rs 300 crore, in non-plan expenditures – including for consumables, maintenance, and salaries, among others – which are of recurring nature.
There are huge deviations between budget estimates and revised estimates.
However, an internal committee, constituted to review the user charges at the hospital, has recommended against charging money for tests and procedures which cost less than Rs 500.
It has suggested that private ward charges at AIIMS should be increased to make up for the loss, as their rates are less than semi-private wards in corporate hospitals that can be accessed by people under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).
As far as increasing fees for diagnostic tests on the basis of income is concerned, the committee said that there were challenges in identifying the economically weaker sections of the society and recommended that differential fee arrangement should not be implemented.
Around 10,000 people visit the out-patient department of AIIMS every day, and at any given time, more than 2,000 patients are admitted to the hospital.
The hospital currently generates Rs 101 crore from user charges, which include OPD charges, diagnostic tests in various departments, radiology charges, in-patient care, and room rentals. The cost of many routine tests at AIIMS ranges between Rs 10 and Rs 25.
(Breathe In, Breathe Out: Are you finding it tough to breathe polluted air? Join hands with FIT in partnership with #MyRightToBreathe to find a solution to pollution. Send in your suggestions to fit@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: undefined