Kerala: Autumn fund' for senior citizens in private hospitals

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The LDF government will unveil a policy for senior citizens that will include a clause directing private hospitals in the state to set up an ‘autumn fund’ for financially-distressed senior citizens. The treatment costs of destitute old people, however much the cost is, will have to be met from this nest egg. This is just one of a series of measures included in the proposed State Policy for Senior Citizens to make private healthcare sensitive to needs of the old. The policy, a top source said, has been informed by the realisation that the private sector has failed to take care of the needs of the old people.

“The private hospitals that have proliferated in the state in the post-liberalisation era have not accorded adequate consideration to the health needs of the senior citizens,” the source said. The proposed policy, the source said, would speak about imposing a “moral code” to control the private sector. “This moral code will bring about a reduction in the cost of treatment and medicines,” the source said. The policy will be sympathetic to the health requirements of senior citizens in general.  The state government, once the policy is out, is expected to negotiate with the hospitals in the private sector to subsidise the treatment cost of senior citizens, irrespective of their economic status.

Besides, the policy will also make it mandatory for governments to set up a government-controlled Comprehensive Health Insurance Fund for future Senior Citizens. Working men and women will be asked to part with a small share of their earnings that will go into the Fund which will be used in future to take care of their future medical needs. Government hospitals will also be asked to set up exclusive areas for the treatment of senior citizens; the private sector will be asked to follow suit.