New Delhi: The Congress on Friday claimed that party-ruled Rajasthan’s health-care system had not only become a national model, but was also being discussed in foreign universities and urged the Centre to follow suit. “There is a mood of festivity in the state after the Rajasthan government passed the Right to Health Bill recently. Rajasthan is the first state in the country to pass such a Bill, which is also being discussed by other states. The state’s health care has become a model for the country and is being discussed as a case study in foreign universities. We are very proud of the development,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said.
“The Right to Health Bill has been passed by the Assembly and sent to the Governor for his approval. Already, eight crore residents of the state are beneficiaries of the Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana for which the government recently increased the limit from Rs 10 lakhs to Rs 25 lakhs. Now, every resident can avail of free diagnosis and treatment in the state without worrying about the cost,” Rajasthan Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena said.
“Rajasthan has become a model state in health care. We are providing around 1,800 types of medicines free. We had seen how people across the country struggled for oxygen and health care facilities during the Covid. We want the Centre to follow the Rajasthan model,” he said. According to Meena, the Right to Health Bill was realised after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot recently assured Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra that the health cover would be extended to all the residents of the state.
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Meena noted that the state government had provided free treatment to all the residents during the pandemic years and was aware how the heavy cost of health care impacts people. “When the BJP was in power in the state the health budget was just three per cent. Now under the Congress government it is seven per cent,” said Meena.
Making a comparison with neighbouring Gujarat, Pawan Khera said that many residents of Gujarat had actually been coming to Rajasthan over the past years to avail of the free healthcare facilities under the Gehlot government. “There is no primary health care centre without a doctor in Rajasthan. We want the Gujarat government to tell us how many of their PHCs don’t have doctors. Otherwise, we will come out with the facts. The reality of the Gujarat model is that many people from that state come to Rajasthan to avail better health care facilities. This is the difference between the famed Gujarat model and the Rajasthan model,” said Khera.
According to Meena, the State government was opening medical and nursing colleges in every district of the state to expand the health care network. Meena acknowledged that the private hospitals, which have less than 50 beds, had opposed the Right to Health Bill, but said their concerns would be addressed to.
“We are not forcing anyone to join our health care scheme. We want people of the state to get the benefit of free health care. Around 1,000 hospitals are participating in the scheme happily. Once the Bill is approved by the Governor, we will frame the rules in which the concerns expressed by the private hospitals would be addressed. They would then join the scheme on their own,” he added.
