09 December,2023 07:29 AM IST | Mumbai | Eshan Kalyanikar
MJPJAY officials said they will resolve the issue soon. Representation Pic
The state government's flagship insurance scheme Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) has encountered a temporary setback. Patients are unable to avail themselves of all benefits under the MJPJAY during times of crisis due to technical errors on the website.
There are about 1,000 empanelled hospitals, including approximately 196 public health facilities, while the rest are private health facilities. About 57 public and private hospitals in Mumbai are supposed to accept MJPJAY. "For the past two days, we have had to inform patients that their application approval will be pending because of issues on the website," said MJPJAY staff at KEM Hospital.
The website is unable to show the uploaded documents of new beneficiaries. "Neither can we see them at the time of registration, nor can higher officials view them. So, the approval for the procedure to be availed under the scheme or the required medicines remains pending as the identity cannot be verified," said an MJPJAY staffer.
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At present, the scheme provides insurance coverage up to 1.5 lakh to over 50 lakh patients. As per protocol, MJPJAY officials have communicated with all the hospitals not to halt treatment for those whose approval is pending. However, in the case of KEM, while doctors proceed with the medical procedure, the subsidised pharmacy at the hospital refuses to provide medication without prior approval.
For instance, Sajan Khambe's brother is undergoing an operation at KEM after an accident. "For the last two days, we have been visiting the centre to check for approval. In the end, we had to spend Rs 6,000 on the purchase of medicines as the medical shop refused free-of-cost under MJPJAY," he said.
MJPJAY officials mentioned that while, in the past two days, some private hospitals have denied treatment pending approval, that has not been the case at large. "The issue occurred suddenly, and we are in the process of resolving it at the earliest," the official said.
