Maharashtra govt plans tripartite funding to aid needy patients
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"A portion of the patient's medical bill will be paid by a corporate house, and the state will also contribute a bit," said Rameshwar Naik, who heads the Chief Minister's Medical Assistance Cell. The third partner would be the treating hospital itself. "We are trying to assess how much hospitals can contribute by reducing charges or providing free services," he added.
The tripartite method would ensure more patients get help.
"Instead of one corporate house helping one patient, the tripartite method will ensure more patients can be assisted," said a govt official. "The chief minister has also directed that we start crowdfunding efforts for patients who need specialised treatment that runs into lakhs or crores of rupees," said Naik, who heads the state's Charity Hospital Relief Cell.
A few months back, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis linked the work of his medical assistance cell with the charity commissioner's office to ensure that economically needy patients get access to free beds and care in the various trust-run hospitals in the state.
As charity trusts get concessions from the state, their hospitals have to provide 10% of the beds free of cost to families earning less than Rs 1.8 lakh per annum; another 10% of the beds are given at a subsidised rate to families earning less than Rs 3.6 lakh per annum.
In the first six months of the year, 23,269 people were provided with Rs 149 crore in assistance by the Chief Minister's Medical Assistance Fund and Charity Hospital Relief Cell. The state is the first to receive Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund of Maharashtra, enabling it to receive foreign donations for "social" programmes.
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