BSKY scheme is operational: Odisha chief secretary

BHUBANESWAR: After some private hospitals allegedly stopped treatment under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) following the BJD's defeat, the government on Thursday clarified that the scheme remains active and asked empaneled hospitals to continue treatment for cardholders until the new government makes further decisions on the scheme.
"This is to clarify that all BSKY beneficiaries will continue to avail themselves of cashless healthcare services.Hospitals have been sensitized to continue treatment for beneficiaries without any disruption. All claims raised by hospitals will be paid by the State Health Assurance Society (SHAS) as before," said the official statement from the health and family welfare department issued on Thursday.
Governor Ragubar Das expressed deep concern over reports in the media regarding confusion over BSKY health cards post-election results and beneficiaries being deprived of health services. He has asked chief secretary PK Jena to take appropriate steps immediately so that no confusion regarding BSKY arises, and beneficiaries receive uninterrupted healthcare services.
Following the governor’s direction, the chief secretary issued a video message to the public. “BSKY is a government scheme, and it is operational. No empaneled hospital can deny treatment to any BSKY cardholder or stop their treatment prematurely. It will continue until the new government makes any further decision on this scheme,” said Jena.
He said BSKY beneficiaries can call the helpline number of the health and family welfare department to air their grievances. “If any empaneled hospital neglects or creates problems for patients admitted under the BSKY scheme, action will be taken against the hospital,” he added.
Private Hospitals Association member, Subhasish Baral, said they suspected that the scheme might not continue as the government has changed. “We were confused about whether the new government would clear the dues or not. But we have not neglected treating patients. After getting clarification from the government, we are now relieved. However, we are yet to receive any written assurance,” he added.
A government statement issued on Thursday said that BSKY cardholder patients continue receiving treatment in empaneled hospitals. On June 4, empanelled hospitals booked treatment packages for more than 5,800 patients. On June 5, treatment packages were booked for more than 5,389 patients by empaneled hospitals. “The memorandums of understanding on BSKY signed with empaneled hospitals remain in force. The government has directed all empaneled hospitals to continue the treatment as before," said the official statement.
The BJP has announced plans to replace BSKY with the Ayushman Bharat scheme. On Wednesday, BJP state president Manmohan Samal told the media that the BSKY scheme has limited scopes and people staying outside the state are not getting its benefits. “Odisha will implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme,” he added.