'CGHS rates should be hiked'

PUNE: Several private hospitals in the city have threatened to stop accepting CGHS patients as they were unhappy with the slashing of consultancy fees and other costs of medical treatment procedures.
"The rates were last revised in 2002. We had expected an upward revision this time, but the rates have been further slashed," Colonel (retd.) Ajit Palekar of Sancheti Institute for orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, who is an executive committee member of the Pune hospital association said.He said the new rates have been fixed arbitrarily and without consulting any of the hospital members. "Hospitals had also given individual quotation for surgical procedures, but we don't think that has even been considered," he said, adding that even for surgical procedures, the rates have been slashed by at least 20 to 25%.
Harish Radhakrishnan of the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers in Pune, who looks after the CGHS affairs, admitted that the new rates were ridiculously low. "The hospitals stopping treatment for the beneficiaries, particularly the pensioners, will have an adverse impact," he said, hoping that a revision will be worked out.
The confederation has also approached city MP Suresh Kalmadi and the Union ministries of human resources development and finance to make a special concession and declare Pune as ‘A-1' city.
Notwithstanding the city's population, Pune has witnessed substantial growth in the last few years. Cities with more than 50 lakh population are classified as ‘A-1' cities.
"Even the cost of living here — which is considered an index for classification of cities — is at par with ‘A-1' cities, and not ‘A' class cities," he said.
CGHS beneficiaries requiring to consult a specialist or undergo a complex surgery have to get an approval from a doctor at any one of the CGHS dispensaries. This is besides taking a second opinion from a doctor in a government hospital, certifying the same, before seeking treatment at a private hospital.
As many as 49 hospitals and 18 diagnostic centres in Pune are registered under the central scheme. Under the CGHS, about 1.5 lakh central government employees and over 40,000 pensioners draw health benefits in the city.