State to provide free, subsidised treatment for the poor in charitable hospitals

More than 12,000 beds in 468 charitable hospitals of the state are being made available for poor patients with the help of the medical aid room in the office of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and are being treated at free and subsidised rates. In the last five months, 258 patients have been saved by treating critical patients including cancer treatment, liver, kidney, bone marrow transplant and critical surgeries. These patients got treatment worth 17 crore 69 lakh rupees for free or at discounted rates.

A petition was submitted by Gajanan Punalekar in the High Court complaining that 10% of the beds are not made available by the hospitals to the poor patients in the charitable hospitals. After that a committee was appointed under the chairmanship of the Charity Commissioner and further a medical aid cell was established in the Deputy Chief Minister's office by the Law and Justice Department.

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An order was issued in this regard on October 31, 2023 and the Special Medical Help Desk was made operational from January. Rameshwar Naik is the head of this cell. It is mandatory for charitable hospitals to reserve 10% beds for poor and needy patients and Fadnavis had also introduced a bill to amend the Trustees Act in the recently held session and it was approved.

Departmental Workshop

Departmental workshops are being held in Mumbai, Nagpur, Kolhapur etc. to inform all the relevant agencies about this scheme and the help room, which is ongoing through the Department of Law and Justice. Chief executive officers of charitable hospitals, doctors from government colleges and others will be a part of it. A workshop was recently held at the Yashwantrao Chavan Center in Mumbai. It was attended by Principal Secretary of Law and Justice Department Suvarna Kevele, Secretary in Deputy Chief Minister's Office Shrikar Pardeshi etc.

Who can benefit from the scheme?

● Free treatment for families whose annual income is INR 1 lakh 80 thousand. Other poor patients were treated at a 50% concessional rate.

● Poor patients can be treated under this scheme in 468 charitable hospitals of the state including Kokilaben, Reliance, Sahyadri and Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospitals in Pune.

● Charitable hospitals are mandated to provide 10 percent beds. The number of beds will increase further. 

● Required Documents : Aadhaar Card or Identity Card, Ration Card or Income Proof, Doctor's Note (Prescription)


Where to contact?

● Deputy Chief Minister's Office Special Medical Help Desk, Ministry
● Website : charityhelp.demo@maharashatra.gov.in
● Office of the Charity Commissioner 
● Collector's Office
● Government Medical College 
● Charitable Hospital