Mucormycosis patients to be treated free of cost under health schemes: Maharashtra govt to Bombay HC

The Maharashtra government told the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday that fungal ailment mucormycosis was now covered under the Mahatma Jotiba Phule Jan Aarogya Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya YojanaCitizens will receive free treatment for mucormycosis at preidentified hospitals and nursing homes across Maharashtra under the above schemes the state saidThe Maharashtra government told a bench of Justices R V Ghuge and B U Debadwar that it had identified 130 hospitals across the state for treating antifungal ailments and citizens even those who did not hold cards for the insurance schemes mentioned above could avail the treatment for mucormycosis at these facilities free of costThe state said 1000 more hospitals would be empanelled for treating mucormycosis under the above two schemes soonThe government said antifungal medicines required for treating mucormycosis will be provided free of cost to patients admitted in these hospitals and private hospitals will also be restrained from raising astronomical billsThe government said it was also working on capping the cost of the treatment for mucormycosis at private hospitals in the state A Government Resolution GR issued on May 18 this year notified the above submissions the state saidThe bench accepted the states submissions and directed it to publicise the GR It is thus apparent that the state of Maharashtra has come up with a specific policy to treat mucormycosis Private hospitals too will be restrained from raising astronomical bills We therefore expect the state government to accord wide publicity to this policy so that the poorest of poor the illiterate and semi literate and persons in remote and tribal areas become aware of the same the HC saidNeedless to state that the list of hospitals identified for such treatment and through which medicines will be made available also be given wide publicity so that patients do not land at wrong hospitals for availing the treatment for mucormycosis it saidThe court directed such hospitals to display instructions for the public about the availability of beds and medicines It will continue the hearing on TuesdayThe Union health ministry recently urged the states and Union Territories to make cases of black fungal infection or mucormycosis a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 stating that the infection is leading to prolonged morbidity and mortality among Covid19 patientsIn a letter the ministry said in recent times a new challenge in the form of a fungal infection mucormycosis has emerged and has been reported among Covid19 patients in many states especially those on steroid therapy and deranged sugar controlThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever