Assam Public Health Bill Passed

The buzz among the public is that India has got its focus right by pursuing initiatives in the health and education sector. Assam became the first Indian state to enact a legislation that will ensure health right to its residents. The assembly unanimously passed the Assam Public Health Bill, 2010 on 2nd April 2010. It is now mandatory for all medical centers, both private and government including nursing homes, to provide free health care plus appropriate protocol of treatment. The scheme might take effect from mid of April.

The state government will bear the complete expense of the surgery conducted on children with holes in their hearts. The Health minister of Assam Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the children would be taken to Bangalore at the Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital.

Highlights of Assam Public Health Bill, 2010

Here are some salient points of the Assam Public Health Bill:

• The state government will incur an expenditure of nearly Rs 2.5 Lakhs on the treatment of each child.
• The Assam Government will also make cochlear implants free which means that children born with hearing problems can now avail the benefits of the bill.
• There will be a one time grant of Rs 1 Lakh for patients who require kidney transplant surgery.
• The government has also promised to pay Rs 100 and Rs 70 per day to the concerned medical colleges and civil hospitals.
• The state government will also ensure that the first referral units receive medicines that are unavailable at the hospitals.

Assam Public Health Bill Spells Good news for Poor Patients

The health minister of Assam has announced that the government will pay a sustenance amount of money to the financially weaker segments of the society such as daily wage earners and rickshaw-pullers during the period when they are taking bedrest, advised by the doctor. Clearly, the Assam Public Health Bill spells good news for poor patients. The government intends to set up at least fifty model hospitals in Assam.

More can be achieved across the country if additional states follow the Assam Public Health Bill, 2010 and emulate it in other states as well. The government plans to spend approximately Rs 2.5 lakhs per child under this scheme.  However, there is raging concern that poor doctors may be at the receiving end of such a scheme.