Odisha Budget Session: Health Minister Admits Many Hospitals Denying Treatment To BSKY Card Holders

Bhubaneswar: It’s one of the flagship programmes of the BJD government in Odisha. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik himself launched the scheme in all districts of the state ahead of the panchayat polls.

But state Health Minister Naba Das admitted on Monday that at many hospitals in the state poor patients were not being able to use the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) Smart Card and avail health benefits under the scheme.

The health minister’s remarks came in the Budget Session of the Assembly while replying to Opposition’s questions.

Das said the government was addressing the issue and would empanel more hospitals under the scheme.

Congress MLA Adhiraj Panigrahy on Monday told the House that many patients were unable to avail the benefits of the BSKY cards at hospitals in the state and outside.

Panigrahy said many well-known private hospitals were denying people treatment with BSKY cards because of problems in disbursement from the Odisha government.

BJP MLA Mukesh Mahaling alleged that patients were not able to avail OPD services using BSKY cards.

The state government has said 96 lakh families in the state are being provided BSKY card benefits.

Under the scheme, a person can avail treatment up to Rs 5 lakh per annum at over 200 hospitals without any hassle using this card. For women members of the family, the limit is Rs 10 lakh.