Original Research Article
Year: 2020 | Month: October | Volume: 10 | Issue: 10 | Pages: 333-339
How Financial Assistance Schemes Help Poor Patients to Manage Their Healthcare Expenditure: An Experience from a Premier Tertiary Care Institute of North India
Pranay Mahajan1, Jyoti Kalkal2, Navin Pandey1, Atul Rai3, Vipin Kumar Koushal1
1Department of Hospital Administration, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India-160012
2Hospital Administrator, Sonipat, Haryana, India-131001
3Poor Patient Cell, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India-160012
Corresponding Author: Pranay Mahajan
ABSTRACT
Background: Many schemes introduced into India’s health sector provide financial support to poor who may not otherwise afford expensive tertiary healthcare. We assessed financial assistance provided through different schemes by ‘Poor Patient Cell’ (PPC) of PGIMER and described trends of utilisation of the funds received.
Methods: Records of financial assistance provided through PPC to poor patients were studied retrospectively for a period of 1-year. Funds allocated under National Illness Assistance Fund (NIAF)/RAN (Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi), Health Minister’s Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF) and Poor Patient Welfare Fund (PPWF) were evaluated.
Results: Out of 181 beneficiaries, 66.9% were male and 30.4% females with mean age 32.8 years. 47.5% received assistance for medical conditions (maximum for pulmonary conditions). 64.1% didn’t possess requisite documents. 89.8% earned less than ₹50,000/annum and had average 5.31 dependents on them. Total ₹79,12,695 was demanded and ₹70,71,137 sanctioned from these funds. 53.6% received full amount required. Highest proportion of male beneficiaries suffered from pulmonary ailments and females from pediatric ailments. Maximum beneficiaries of PPWF, NIAF/RAN and HMCPF were in the age groups of 20-30, 10-20 and 40-50 years respectively. Maximum cancer beneficiaries were from Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Maximum benefit for cancers was received from HMCPF (75%) while for transplants, medical conditions and surgical conditions was received from PPWF.
Conclusions: Poor patients are receiving substantial financial support through various Government schemes at PGIMER. However, there is still a high demand for financial assistance by poor and government needs to focus on enhancing its healthcare expenditure and introduce newer schemes.
Key words: poor patient welfare; healthcare expenditure; health schemes; financial assistance; rashtriya arogya nidhi (RAN); distressed financing