Why Rajasthan doctors are refusing Gehlot's Right to Health pill

Doctors protesting against Right to Health Bill in Rajasthan

The doctors working in Rajasthan are on the roads protesting for more than a week now against the Right to Health Bill passed by the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in the assembly on March 21. The medical fraternity protesting against the Right to Health Bill, which they claim is a ‘Black Bill’ framed against the healthcare workers in the state, said they will continue the agitation till the government withdraws the Bill.

What is the Right to Health Bill

The Right to Health Bill passed in the Rajasthan Assembly gives every resident of the state the right to emergency treatment and care “without prepayment" at any public health institution, health care establishment and designated health care centres.

Dr Raj Shekhar Yadav, state convenor of the United Private Clinic and Hospitals Association of Rajasthan (UPCHAR) told Moneycontrol that the Bill passed by the Rajasthan government will cripple the functioning of private hospitals in the state.

“The state government hasn’t revised the treatment cost being offered by them in the Rajasthan Government Health Scheme (RGHS) since 2013. There are operational costs involved in running private hospitals. How does the state authority expect us to treat the patients without a clear framework of payment structure?” Yadav asked.

UPCHAR is one of the leading associations of healthcare workers calling for withdrawal of the Bill.

Yadav added that this Bill will increase the bureaucratic interference in the functioning of private hospitals.

“We see nearly 20 percent insurance rejection in the bills sent by private hospitals under the government-funded Chiranjeevi scheme. The private hospitals will have to cross additional red tape from the officials for getting payment from government,” he added.

Right to Health Bill: No clarity on emergency services, payments

The Right to Health Bill states that neither the government, nor private hospitals and clinics can refuse a person seeking emergency treatment, adding that the state government will bear the cost of the treatment provided by the hospital.

The doctors however, have asked the government to define the term ‘emergency’ properly.

Dr Dinesh Gora, a practicing trauma surgeon in Rajasthan, said that without a proper definition of an emergency, every patient would claim every ailment as an emergency case.

“There are already defined rules for accident and emergency by the Supreme Court. But with the Bill becoming law, anyone with a headache can claim it to be an emergency, and we can’t refuse treatment," he said.

So, if 'emergency' treatment is not defined properly, how does the hospital claim reimbursement from the government, he asked.

Moneycontrol reached out to Rajasthan Health Minister, Parsadi Lal, for comments on the doctors’ protest. However, he is yet to respond to the calls.

Rajasthan's Right to Health Bill: Is it poll gimmick?

Rajasthan goes to the polls later this year and the doctors have alleged that the state government has passed this Bill in haste to cover up its failure in augmenting the state's public health infrastructure.

A top official from the Union Health Ministry, when asked for a comment on the Bill, termed it a "poll gimmick" aimed at garnering votes.

Girdhar Gyani, Director, the Association of Healthcare Providers, representing the majority of healthcare providers in India, said the right to health should be brought in only if the government has its own infrastructure.

"AHPI takes a serious view of such an Act and will appeal to the government to reconsider the provisions of the Bill, failing which industry would be constrained to approach the Governor. Till then, hospitals have decided to suspend services," he added.

NATHEALTH, another forum of healthcare providers, has urged the Rajasthan government to keep this Bill in abeyance till a consensus is arrived at and an operational framework established.

Also Read | Rajasthan doctors begin one-day strike against Right to Health Bill; medical services take a hit

"The Bill raises significant questions on private providers around operational viability, financial sustainability, patient privacy and increased legal and criminal cases that will be lodged against doctors who are already victims of physical violence," Dr. Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, President, NATHEALTH, said.