Why private doctors are opposing Rajasthan’s Right To Health Bill?

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) is observing Monday as 'black day' in protest against the Right To Health Bill, 2022, passed in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly last week, after the incumbent Ashok Gehlot government outrightly rejected the demand of the private doctors to withdraw it.

After passage of the landmark Bill, Rajasthan became the first State to ensure the Right to Health under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Bill finally approved by the Assembly is quite different from the original one which was introduced in the House in September last year, though the basics remain unchanged.

After apprehensions were raised over some provisions of the Bill, it was referred to a select committee and many amendments were effected as per the recommendations of the committee as well as following many rounds of discussions with IMA and other stake-holders. But later, IMA and other private doctor's outfits demanded complete withdrawal of the Bill, hence the stand-off.

The provisions

The Bill has a total of 20 rights mentioned in it. Most importantly, it provides that every resident of Rajasthan will have the right to emergency treatment and care for an accidental emergency "without prepayment" of requisite fees or charges even in private hospitals and if the patient does not pay up, the "government will reimburse" them.

The Bill also has the provision for the right to have adequate relevant information about the nature and cause of illness. Moreover, it provides for a fine of up to Rs 10,000 for the first contravention of any provisions of the Bill and up to Rs 25,000 for the subsequent contraventions.

This way, the legislation is very pro-people in the sense that it makes access to healthcare a legal entitlement of every citizen and neither government nor private hospitals, not even private doctors, can refuse to render their services to a person seeking emergency treatment.

Why the opposition?

And this is precisely what making the private doctors and medical entities jittery about the Bill as they fear that it will make them "vulnerable". They are quite "uncomfortable" with many of the provisions of the Bill as they hurt their interest (read 'vested interest').

In most cases, it is seen that doctors force patients to buy medicines from in-house pharmacies or from a particular medical shop 'hinted' by them. They also ask their patients to get the tests recommended by them done from in-house or particular pathology laboratories and diagnostic centres. But under this Bill, patients have the right to choose where to procure the medicines or get a test done.

As for redressal of grievances, the Bill envisions the creation of district health authorities and a state health authority, which can inspect hospitals and clinics on the basis of the complaints received. These authorities will also formulate guidelines to implement the law and advise the government on treatment protocol too.

This provision comes as a major hindrance in the way the doctors and the hospitals are running their affairs as any violation will not only attract heavy penalties but also hit their reputation. These are the main reasons, among many others, why the private doctors are squirming over passage of the Bill and fighting tooth and nail to get it withdrawn.