The Bengal government has extended the cashless limit for its employees for treatment in private hospitals from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh, bringing cheer to its staff and leaving private hospitals worried.
The government on Thursday issued the notice announcing the enhancement of the cashless limit for treatment of in-patients in private hospitals empanelled under the West Bengal Health Scheme.
“Enhancement of cashless ceiling for each IPD treatment was under active consideration for sometime past and after careful observations of all aspects, the governor is now pleased to enhance the ceiling of cashless limit of each IPD treatment in private empanelled hospital up to Rs 1.5 lakh from the existing ceiling of Rs 1 lakh,” the notice stated.
The scheme has 8,65,773 beneficiaries, according to the state health department’s website.
Officials of several private hospitals said the limit enhancement would mean lesser cash flow to the healthcare units, citing the usual delay in reimbursement by the government.
“The West Bengal Health Scheme rates are very low. There has been no revision in the rates for years. The new system means 50 per cent increase in credit limit for hospitals,” said the CEO of a private hospital in Kolkata.
Hospitals said it usually took between 45 and 90 days to get the credit amount reimbursed. One private hospital in the city said it treated around 180 patients under the scheme in a month and the billed amount was around Rs 1.5 crore.
“Out of this amount, the patients pay Rs 50 lakh and the government reimburses Rs 1 crore. With the enhancement of the cashless limit, Rs 1.5 crore will become outstanding. That could trigger more refusals of patients under the scheme,” said an official of the hospital.
The CEO of another hospital said more than 25 per cent of the patients admitted are under several health schemes of central and state governments.
“The rates are lower by 60 to 70 per cent on an average compared to that paid by patients who are not covered under these schemes,” he said.
“The enhancement of the cashless facility will be beneficial for state government employees…. The beneficiaries will be fully covered for high-end surgeries. It’s a welcome thing,” said Komal Dashora, president, Medica Group of Hospitals.
“At the same time, the reimbursement cycle should be maintained so that the private hospitals don’t feel the cash crunch,” Dashora said.