Aarogyasri scheme: Govt planning to raise free treatment limit

Hyderabad: In order to provide free treatment to the Telangana people, the state government had decided to raise the limit of the Aarogyasri scheme.

According to reliable sources, the state government is planning to raise the free treatment limit to Rs. 5 lakh from the current Rs 2 lakhs.

There is a stream of demand to raise the limit from different parts of the state as Rs 2 lakhs is not sufficient for treatment in private hospitals for serious ailments.

It is being said that the state government is trying to acquire information from network hospitals to make decisions in the light of their proposals.

Medical expenses have seen a steep increase recently due to which the poor people are forced to take loans for their treatment.

It is learned that the Chief Minister KCR is consulting ministers and health officials in this regard. In case of an increase in the medical treatment limit, the family can benefit from this scheme if two members require treatment.

Currently, Aarogyasri covers 1020 diseases while the central government Ayushman Bharat scheme covers 1668.

Under public pressure, the state government has decided to adopt the Central Government scheme in Telangana during the current year. Both the schemes are being implemented concurrently in Telangana.

Corporate hospitals form the biggest hurdles in the implementation of the Aarogyasri scheme. These hospitals are refusing to admit the patients under “aarogyasri” citing non-payment of the arrears by the government.

It is being said that the state government is delaying the payment of network hospitals under the Aarogyasri scheme. These hospitals demand that the government must make the payment on time.