Finance Committee proposes ceasing Aasandha scheme in private hospitals

The decision to do so will only be confirmed after parliament passes the committee’s report. If the parliament does pass the report, the Asandha service will only be  available in the government’s Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) and other government health centers and health corporations around the country.

However, medical services that are not currently available in IGMH would still be available from private hospitals and clinics, but the new arrangements would require a doctor’s referral to use such services, according to the report.

The Finance Committee’s report, compiled last week, also suggests that in order to reform the scheme, all political positions including parliamentarians and those for which parliament sets the salaries be excluded from the scheme, and that Auditor General conduct a complete audit of the scheme to ensure the absence of any fraudulent transactions.