These are not cases in isolation. about one and a half lakh central government pensioners The residents of Pune and Pimpri chinchwad are forced to spend from their own pocket despite being covered under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).
This is because some of the major CGHS are privately listed hospital Cashless facility has been stopped for pensioners for non-payment of dues from the Centre. There are more than 63 private hospitals empaneled in Pune under this scheme.
The 62-year-old pensioner said, “Since surgery often involves a huge amount, we have to take a loan. We can reimburse the cost after the holiday. But the process takes more than a month.”
Ruby Hall had discontinued the cashless facility from February this year, while some other empaneled hospitals decided to discontinue the service from July. The suspension of services has mainly impacted retired central government employees, who are eligible to seek cashless services under CGHS.
hospital stays CGHS Cashless Service, pensioner victims
Bomi Bhote, CEO, Ruby Hall Clinic, said, “With effect from February 1, 2022, we are compelled to suspend the cashless facility to CGHS pensioners due to severe financial crunch. We are very sorry for the inconvenience. But, we have agreed to offer CGHS rate services to enable all CGHS beneficiaries to submit their claims for reimbursement.”
The Association of Hospitals in Pune, a body of private hospitals, has decided to discontinue the CGHS cashless facility as the empaneled hospitals collectively owe over Rs 100 crore to the central government. The hospitals have not received funds for providing cashless facility during the treatment of pensioners and their family members for more than one year.
“Our dues are over Rs 25 crore. But we are treating a lot of patients on compassionate grounds and have not closed the cashless facility completely. Apart from this, we are providing cashless treatment facility to patients requiring continuous treatment for chronic diseases,” Bhote said.
Bhote said, ‘Just two years have passed since the Kovid epidemic. The hospitals are utilizing all the resources to treat the COVID patients and are under tremendous financial pressure to survive at the rates fixed by the government. Dr Neeraj Adkar, Founder-Head of Saisree Hospital said, “We are providing cashless facility to pensioners under CGHS. But we have come to a stage where it is no longer possible to extend the facility. We may turn off this feature from July 1st.”
Dr Ramesh Ranka, Founder-Head of Ranka Hospital in Mukundnagar said, “We are expanding the cashless facility, though our dues are pending for a long time. We have a base of patients who depend on us. We cannot deprive them of services.” Dr Anuradha Sondoor, Additional Director, CGHS, Pune Zone, said, “We have requested empaneled private hospitals in Pune to restart the facility, as we will end this year. intends to repay 50% of the dues up to Rs. this month.”