Thiruvananthapuram: \'Karunya\' scrapping hits patients hard

Thiruvananthapuram: Health minister K. K. Shailaja on Saturday said the government would intervene if patients who were receiving assistance under Karunya Benevolent scheme are denied treatment facilities under the new Ayushman Karunya scheme.

The minister said the existing problems were related to the change from one insurance scheme to another. "We will direct health institutions not to deny treatment facilities and assistance to patients who were covered under KBF," she said.

Her assurance comes in the wake of reports that thousands of patients had landed in major problem following the scrapping of Karunya Benevolent scheme. The new scheme is restricted to only inpatients. Earlier, the outpatients were also getting the treatment facilities and medicines under the Karunya scheme.

Major health institutions including RCC, Sree Chitra, Malabar Cancer Centre and Kochi cancer centre are yet to join the new scheme compounding the problems of patients.

 Under the Karunya scheme the patients were able to avail treatment up to a maximum of Rs 3 lakh, Rs 1.60 lakh under Chis Plus and RSBY.

The government had earlier stated that the new scheme was more beneficial.   KBF provided only a life time financial aid of Rs 2 lakh while the new health insurance scheme would offer insurance coverage up to Rs 5 lakh every year.

However, the officials admitted that certain ailments are not covered under the insurance scheme.  The government is examining the possibilities of retaining Karunya benevolent to include life style diseases like cancer and cardiac problems.

 Meanwhile, State Human Rights Commission Dr K Mohan Kumar on Saturday sought a report from chief secretary Tom Jose on the circumstances leading to the stopping of Karunya Benevolent fund which provided free health care to poor patients in the state.

A petition filed by G Manjukuttan of Karunagapally before the commission said with the stopping of the Karunya scheme poor patients including those with cancer were finding difficult to carry on with their treatment. Even life saving medicines were not available. The decision to stop Karunya scheme was pushing poor patients towards death.

The money used for Karunya benevolent scheme is not taken from state exchequer as the amount is collected through lottery sales and used as part of social security measure. Through such measures the attempt is to bring poor patients under the grip of private insurance companies. The complaint urged the government through rights panel to continue Karunya scheme which provided life saving assistance to poor patients .