For the last two weeks, the current government and opposition political party BRS are blaming each other for suspended services of Aarogyasri to patients in corporate hospitals in Telangana.
Opposition BRS MLA T Harish Rao says that the negligence of the Congress government has become a curse for the underprivileged. Due to the failure to clear pending dues, Aarogyasri services across the State have come to a halt, leaving many in distress. Despite the struggles faced by the people, the State government’s lack of concern is deeply unfortunate. “We demand the government address the issues raised by network hospitals, clear pending dues and ensure the continuation of Aarogyasri services for the benefit of the needy,” said Harish Rao.
Responding to it, Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha said that the previous government neglected the Aarogyasri health scheme for a decade and the BRS leaders are now boasting about it. He pointed out that during the previous regime, hospitals were left unpaid, package rates were not revised and arrears amounting to Rs 730 crore accumulated. “We inherited a broken system and have been
resolving one issue at a time,” the Minister said.
However, Telangana Aarogyasri Network Hospitals Association has said that a few mid and small segment corporate hospitals in districts and in the city have suspended the Aarogyasri services from January 10.
“We want a road map for the scheme. Is the government interested in continuing it? It is not about the government because the dues are pending for years now. Whenever we sat for protest from 2015 the due amount was Rs 1,000 to 1,200 crore. At least the government must take action on who is the beneficiary as approximately 3.2 crore have Aarogyasri cards and do we know how many of them are below poverty line families. They must draft a policy for the corporate hospitals to run the services,” said Dr V Rakesh, President Telangana Aarogyasri Network Hospitals Association.
