15 to 20 pvt hospitals face action for failing to have prerequisite infra

Pradip Chatterjee, MP, 4 Jan 2023, KOLKATA: State Health department has taken strong action against 15 to 20 private hospitals in the state stopping the payment of dues relating to Swasthya Sathi over a span of the last 5 to 6 months as these hospitals failed to have a prerequisite infrastructure. 

The Mamata Banerjee government has taken a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to Swasthya Sathi-related issues, particularly in the case of Swasthya Sathi refusal. Health department has cleared all the Swasthya Sathi-related dues of the private hospitals up to November 30. 

The Bengal government spends around Rs 200 crore every month for the payment of Swasthya Sathi dues to private hospitals. State sees an admission of around 4,500-6,000 patients under Swasthya Sathi on an average basis every month.State clears the dues in three billing cycles every month which normally fall on the 10th/20th/30th of every month, sources said. 

After TPA clears the bills submitted by the private hospitals to the state health department after initial scrutiny, it takes around 30 days to clear the dues. 

TPA takes around 7 days for scrutiny. After the money is cleared from the health department, the respective districts will also carry out separate scrutiny before disbursing the amount to the private hospitals. 

A senior health department official said that around 15-20 private hospitals which are mostly in the districts have failed to meet prerequisite infrastructure parameters and also have HR issues hence their payment has been stopped. The payment will be withheld till these hospitals settle the issues. 

The health department from time to time conducts scrutiny at various hospitals to check whether there are any lapses, the official added. During the health department's instruction, it was found that some of the private hospitals have not set up a separate Swasthya Sathi desk at a prominent place in the hospital. 

There have been specific guidelines from the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) on the installation of the Swasthya Sathi desk. 

According to the Swasthya Sathi dashboard of the health department, 2.4 crore families in Bengal are covered under the state's flagship health scheme. Around 2,200 hospitals have been empanelled. 

State government has already warned private hospitals of stern legal action if they refuse treatment under the state government's Swathya Sathi scheme. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on several occasions appealed to people not to go outside the state for treatment unless it is a very critical ailment and needs specialised care. 

The Swasthya Sathi scheme is applicable for hospitals outside Bengal, especially in Vellore and at AIIMS, Delhi as well. Introduced in December 2016, the Swasthya Sathi scheme offers basic health cover for secondary and tertiary care for up to Rs 5 lakh per annum per family. 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/15-to-20-pvt-hospitals-face-action-for-failing-to-have-prerequisite-infra-504310