Minister Rajani dares Naidu and Lokesh for discussion on Arogyasri implementation
VIJAYAWADA: Medical and health minister Vidadala Rajini has dared Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh to join a public debate on the merits of the Arogaysri health scheme in the state now and health care in the past.
Refuting the allegations of TD leaders that the YSRC government was turning Aarogyasri into Aaarogyasri, she said Chandrababu Naidu and Lokesh were repeatedly making meaningless allegations.
Rajini said lakhs of poor people are getting excellent medical care through the Aarogyasri scheme and this brought a good name to the YSRC government. “The father and son (Naidu and Lokesh) are not able to tolerate this.”
She said that, instead, the former Naidu government had put Arogyasri on a 'ventilator'. She said Chandrababu, who was chief minister for more than 14 years, could not even think of introducing a scheme like Aarogyasri.
The minister said the late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy won a place in the hearts of the people by introducing Arogyasri. If Lokesh had the guts, he should tell openly how much Arogyasri benefits had been increased during the last five years of the YSRC rule.
She recalled that the TD had left ₹631 crore unpaid to the hospitals under this scheme, which was later paid by the Jagan government.
Rajani said that during the TD term, only those below the poverty line were provided with Arogyasri services. Soon after Jagan Reddy came to power, all the families with an annual income of less than ₹5 lakhs were included in the scheme. Due to this single decision, more than 85 per cent of the families in the state, or about 1.42 crore families, have been getting free medical care through Arogyasri.
Aarogyasri services were provided only in 919 hospitals during the term of the TD government. Only 1570 people received free medical treatment through Arogyashri on an average per day then. Only 1057 kinds of illnesses were treated and an average of ₹1,000 crores was spent per year. Less of the funds were given to the hospitals,” Rajini said.
She said that after the Jagananna government came to power, the number of hospitals providing treatment under Aarogyasri increased to 2275. “An average of 3,400 people are now being treated by Aarogyasri a day, and the government is spending ₹3400 crores under Arogyasri this year alone. Aarogyasri benefits now cover as many as 3257 procedures, she said.
Minister Rajini said the state government provided free medical treatment to more than 36 lakh patients under the Aarogyasri scheme in these four years by spending ₹10,100 crores so far.
