By Puli Sharath Kumar

Copyright deccanchronicle

Karimnagar: Backward class welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar, in a statement released on Wednesday, appealed to private hospitals in Karimnagar and Warangal districts to immediately resume Aarogyasri services. He said the suspension of these services was causing severe hardship to the poor and urged hospitals to reconsider their decision from a humanitarian perspective.The minister underlined the state government’s commitment to the scheme. He noted that under the leadership of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and health minister Damodara Rajanarasimha, the free treatment limit under Aarogyasri had been raised from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. In addition, the government had paid Rs 1,779 crore to private hospitals across the state over the past 21 months. He pointed out that charges for 1,375 medical treatments had been increased by an average of 22 per cent, while 143 new and expensive medical services were added to the scheme, costing the government an additional Rs 487.29 crore. The government’s monthly payments to hospitals have also gone up from Rs 57 crore to Rs 75 crore. Recently, Rs 100 crore was released to private hospitals within two days and credited to their accounts, the minister said, assuring that pending dues would be cleared in instalments. Prabhakar appealed to hospitals to understand the state’s financial situation and restore services immediately, keeping in mind the welfare of the poor. He added that health minister Damodara Rajanarasimha was in constant touch with hospital managements to resolve the issue.