Scheme for free Treatment of Indigent & Weaker Section Citizens in Charitable Hospitals in Maharashtra.

Scheme for free Treatment of Indigent & Weaker Section Citizens in Charitable Hospitals in Maharashtra.                                    M.V.Ruparelia.

                                                         

Any Citizen including Senior Citizen, whose annual income is less than Rs 50000 is defined as Indigent and whose income does not exceed Rs 1,00,000 p.a. is defined as Weaker Section for this scheme.

As per Sec 41AA of The Bombay Public Trust Act,1950 (and similar Acts elsewhere) All Public Charitable Trusts registered under Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950 and running hospitals, nursing homes, maternity homes or any kind of medical relief centres and whose annual expenditure exceeds Rs 5 lakh p.a. shall reserve 10% of total number of operational beds for free treatment to indigent patients and further 10% for weaker section for treatment at concessional rates. List of Charitable Hospitals is available with Charity Commissioner and in their Web Site. As many as 59 Hospitals in Mumbai are coming under this facility including big Charitable Hospitals like Beach Candy, Bombay, Jaslok, Lilavati, Hurkishondas in Mumbai. All senior citizens having less than 1lakh income p.a. can take advantage of these hospitals.

Each such Hospital etc shall create an Indigent Patients Fund (IPF) and credit 2% of all bills of all their patients (excluding indigent & weaker section) without any deductions. All donations received from others including other trusts for Indigent Patients shall be credited to this fund.

The following non-billable services shall be free to indigent & weaker section patients:

a)      Bed, b) RMO services, c) Nursing Services, d) Food, e) Linen, f) Water, g) Electricity, h) Routine Diagnostics, i) House Keeping Services.

The indigent & weaker section patients will be provided all treatments in all departments free of charge to indigents and by payment of 50% of cost of medicines (purchase cost), consumables and implants by weaker section.

No relatives of Trustees nor employees (including dependents) of the Hospitals belonging to indigent or weaker section will be included in this 10% reservation. Hospitals will verify Economic Status of indigent & weaker sections coming for treatment through their Medical Social Worker on the basis of certificates from Tehsildar and/or Ration Cards of BPL/Weaker sections.

Detail Scheme may be seen in Web Site: www.mahacharity.gov.in  (Interim Scheme framed by Bombay High Court).Income limit has been modified as above as per advertisement of Charity Commissioner, Greater Mumbai in their advertisement (DGIPR/2012-13/2588) in Newspapers (DNA of 2-12-12).