Govt cancelling CMRF on a flimsy ground: Anagani
BPL families not having Arogyasri will face problems
AMARAVATI: TDP Repalle MLA Anagani Satya Prasad on Sunday urged Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy to restore the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) so as to provide financial assistance to the poor people who were in need of costly treatment for chronic and fatal diseases.
In an open letter to the CM here, Mr. Satya Prasad said the CMRF used to be a boon for the poor patients who got timely treatment for their severe illnesses in the past. Hundreds of patients availed these funds to save their lives at that time. The TDP regime extended this benefit to all needy sections cutting across caste, political, religious and other such considerations. Such a life saving and useful assistance under CMRF was not being provided ever since the YSRCP came to power in the State.
The TDP MLA told the CM that the Government was not giving any value to the letters being given by the MLAs requesting for medical aid to the poor patients. It was deplorable that the present rulers were ignoring the needs of the helpless patients. Many poor families were waiting for long for CMRF assistance but the Government was remaining indifferent. As a result, the poor patients were not getting timely medical care. This was complicating their health conditions and their families were unable to meet the high costs of treatments.
Mr. Satya Prasad recalled that over Rs. 1,600 Cr payments were made under the CMRF towards treatment of about 2.5 lakh patients for five years in the past. Treatment was provided to the poor patients for over 1,500 diseases through NTR Vaidya Seva. Along with this, thousands of patients got financial help from CMRF. This assistance saved the poor families from getting stuck in debt traps following high expenditure on costly medical treatments. The previous Government used to clear bills to the hospitals speedily regarding treatment provided to poor patients.
The TDP MLA said that it was not correct on the part of the YSRCP Government not to pay the pending medical bills to the hospitals under the CMRF assistance. Moreover, the bills were also not being made in time for the new applicants. Because of the negligence of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), over 40,000 applications and hundreds of crores of bills were kept pending. Many poor people lost their lives due to lack of timely health treatment during the height of Coronavirus infections. If there was CMRF assistance, many of them would have saved their lives.
Mr. Satya Prasad urged the Government to at least respond now and restore the health assistance facilities. The public made huge donations to the CMRF during the pandemic time. All such funds should be allocated for the health treatment of the poor families. The Government should withdraw its decision to wind up the CMRF on flimsy grounds that it would not be needed any more since all diseases were included under Arogyasri. In the name of Arogyasri, efforts were being made to wipe out the CMRF facility. How would the Government rescue those patients who were below the poverty line without having Arogyasri cards?
The TDP MLA said that during the TDP rule, over Rs. 10 lakh assistance was provided under CMRF to all those who suffered from health ailments. At the same time, assistance was provided to them even during the delivery time. The YSRCP Government did not include heart transplant under Arogyasri. How would they get medical assistance? Poor patients would not be able to get such high cost medical treatment without assistance from CMRF. The Chief Minister should revive the CMRF in tune with his promise to provide best and timely medical care to the poor patients.
