No relief for private doctors dying on Covid-19 duty

A doctor from Hassan became the 42nd medical practitioner from a private hospital to die of Covid in the state on Wednesday. Yet, his family will receive no compensation under the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package Insurance Scheme for health workers fighting Covid-19 because private doctors are not eligible for it.

This seems to be plight of private doctors in most states.

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Doctors ask why they should treat patients under the government quota in private hospitals if they are not insured.

This Union government’s scheme provides an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh to healthcare providers for accidental loss of life due to Covid-19 infection.

Despite the death of 13 government medical officers and 42 private hospital doctors due to Covid in Karnataka, according to data released by the Union health ministry as on September 15, only eight claims were received by New India Assurance Company Ltd (NIA), the company enlisted by the Centre.

Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey told DH, “Private medical officers are not covered under the scheme unless they are requisitioned by the government for Covid-related work.”

“For our (government) medical officers, families of deceased are yet to submit some papers. We will complete them in the next two days and submit claims,” Pandey added.

A 65-year-old ENT surgeon worked for more than three decades in a reputed government hospital in Mysuru. His wife told DH, “He started working in a clinic post retirement. During the pandemic, he got calls including from the DC that he shouldn’t stop seeing patients.

“He contracted Covid-19 in July and died in less than three weeks. Now, I have to take care of my daughter and son till my son graduates and finds a job. Aren’t private doctors too risking their lives?” she questioned.

Dr Prakash A S (61) worked as a general physician and ran a private clinic for more than 30 years in KR Pet Taluk of Mandya district. His wife Reena D told DH he did not come home during the lockdown as he was seeing Covid patients and did not want to put his family at risk. He was diagnosed with Covid on July 26 and died after a day.

“I am a housewife. I have a 24-year-old son who is still in college. How do I support both of us and my ageing mother? I have no source of income,” she said.

While IMA chapters in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have asked their respective state governments to extend the compensation scheme to private doctors, the Andhra Pradesh chapter says it has not made any such demand.

Dr Madhusudhana Sarma, president of the IMA’s Vijayawada chapter told DH, “We are not making any such compensation demand for private doctors operating in the private hospitals as they charge fees for their
services.”

In Tamil Nadu, in addition to the Centre’s package, the state government too has announced a scheme for Rs 50 lakh, private doctors don’t figure in either of them. IMA Tamil Nadu president Dr C N Raja said, “We want the state to compensate private doctors too because they laid down their lives fighting coronavirus.”

Kerala, however, has reported no death of private healthcare professionals.

Though private doctors in West Bengal are not discriminated against, there is an inordinate delay in disbursing the compensation. In Bihar, even government doctors yet to receive compensation.

Plea to CM

On September 4, the Karnataka state branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) asked the CM to extend the government insurance to private doctors treating Covid patients.

Dr Madhusudan Kariganuru, president, IMA-Karnataka, told DH that he had sent a list of 42 deceased doctors to the health commissioner seeking compensation but is yet to receive a response.

“Even doctors treating Covid patients in their own clinics are being exposed to the infection. We have asked for their inclusion too but the government is firm with its riders in insurance guidelines. We should at least have a term insurance where the government pays 50% of the premium,” he said.

(With inputs from Mrityunjay Bose, E T B Sivapriyan, Abhay Kumar, Prasad Nichenametla, Arjun Raghunath and Soumya Das)