AP Govt takes steps for early clearance of medical relief

Hyderabad, Jan 27 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today said his Government had taken steps for early clearance of medical relief to the needy people from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF).

Talking to newspersons after reviewing the new guidelines for the CMRF here, he said the Government was bringing in a special machinery to provide online medical relief to the poor.

He directed the officials to accept representations from the poor online and process them immediately. The representations would be cleared within six hours and necessary information sent to the hospitals concerned for immediate medical help on daily basis, he said.

Citing irregularities in collection of treatment cost in various hospitals, Dr Reddy said stern action would be taken against such hospitals. The scheme was being implemented by the Government on humanitarian grounds to help the poor, he added.

As per a decision taken by the Government, all the hospitals in the State should collect the fees prescribed by the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in the city, he said.

The Chief Minister said a medical team under the supervision of the Director of Medical Education (DME) would check in every district whether the CMRF was reaching genuine persons and if any excess fees was being collected by hospitals.

Under the scheme, the Government had sanctioned Rs 270 crore, benefitting 86,000 needy people till date. The Government had been receiving nearly 200 representations every day from the people and releasing amounts ranging from Rs 60 lakh to Rs one crore after verification, he said.

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