Amid protests by doctors, Rajasthan passes Right to Health Bill mandating free treatment for all residents

Rajasthan assembly on Tuesday passed the Right to Health Bill amid the strong protests by the doctors and paramedical staff of private hospitals and nursing homes.

The Bill has provision for mandatory free-of-cost emergency treatment for every resident of the state at both the government hospitals and the privately-run institutions without waiting for medico-legal formalities and for giving medicines and transport facilities without charging money.

With this, Rajasthan has become the first and the only State in the country to legislate the right to health.

The Bill, which was tabled in the Assembly on September 22 last year and was later referred to a Select Committee, was passed by voice vote in the House.

The implementation of the law is expected to do away with out-of-pocket expenditure and bring transparency and accountability within the health care system.

Medical and Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena said that it was major welfare step aimed at protecting the interests of the public. The state government would reimburse the expenses to the health care provider if a patient was unable to pay the requisite charges after emergency care, stabilisation and referral, said Meena.

However, the doctors and paramedical staff of private hospitals and nursing homes have been protesting against the Bill, saying that its “draconian provisions” would stifle the private health sector.

According to them, the amendments suggested to the Select Committee were not carried out and the Bill had made it mandatory to provide free treatment without defining an emergency.

The doctors clashed with the police at Statue Circle near the State Assembly, which adversely affected the health care services across the State as the private hospitals remained closed for the second consecutive day.

Police used water cannons to disperse the agitating doctors, even as the medicos in government hospitals boycotted work for two hours as a symbolic gesture of support.

According to Meena, the demand by the doctors for withdrawal of the Bill could not be justified as it had been amended based on several of the suggestions submitted by them.

The ruling Congress had made a promise to legislate the right to health in its manifesto for the 2018 Assembly election and the delay in bringing the law had caused serious concern among the health activists.

The Minister pointed out that the State government had allotted land to several big hospitals on concessional rates and affirmed that they were duty-bound to provide treatment to all the patients.

The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA)-Rajasthan welcomed the Bill’s passage in the Assembly, but it expressed concern over some “serious gaps” in the law.