The Bombay High Court (HC) had last week directed the Central Government to clarify whether private healthcare providers, who were forced to render services during Covid-19 pandemic, were entitled to insurance cover available to Covid warriors under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP).

The division bench comprising of Justice SJ Kathawalla and Justice Riyaz Chagla has directed the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry to clarify the stand by January 7, 2021.

The Court was hearing a petition filed by Koparkhairane resident Kiran Surgade seeking a direction to New India Assurance Company Limited to immediately disburse her claim of ₹50 lakh under PMGKP.

In her petition filed through Advocate Ajit Karwande, the woman said her husband, an Ayurveda doctor, was practicing locally in Navi Mumbai. As Covid-19 started spreading across the state, her husband Dr Bhaskar Surgade received a notice from the commissioner of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) on March 31 asking him to keep his dispensary open and warned to prosecute him under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code if he failed to do so.

She claimed that her husband had to open his dispensary in terms of the notice and treat patients, including persons infected by Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Eventually, he contracted the infection and died on June 10.

Following her husband’s death, she submitted a claim for compensation of ₹50 lakh with New India Assurance Company under PMGKP on August 2. However, as the insurance company rejected her claim on September 7 on the grounds that the deceased was not serving in any hospital designated to treat only Covid-19 patients and was a private practitioner, she moved the HC.

Responding to the petition, assistant government pleader Kavita Solunke had, on December 17, pointed out that the state government on October 1 wrote a letter requesting the Union health and family welfare ministry to extend the benefit of insurance cover to private practitioners as well.

Solunke pointed out that the request was made especially because the Government of Maharashtra had mandated opening of all clinical establishment and had also regulated rates of treatment for private healthcare providers as well.

“In Maharashtra, considering the current scenario of Covid-19 situation, OPD (out-patient department) and IPD (in-patient department) services, screening, examination, treatment and follow-ups in field settings or private clinics and hospitals, all are associated with professional hazard of contracting Covid-19 and related fatalities,” stated the letter referred by Solunke.

“So request you to please consider inclusion of all private healthcare providers/workers who have continued delivery of healthcare services during this pandemic, endangering their lives and many have died due to Covid-19 while serving humanity and nation,” the letter added.

Noticing that the Union health and family welfare ministry has not responded to the letter till date, HC directed the secretary of the department to respond to the letter within two weeks. HC has now posted the petition for further hearing on January 7, 2021.

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