Rajasthan became the first state to pass the Right to Health Bill in the Assembly on Tuesday, granting every resident of the state the right to free Out Patient Department (OPD) and In-Patient Department (IPD) services at all public health facilities.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed surprise at the protests. “I do not know why they have taken to the roads. “We agreed on their demands and made the changes they wanted in the bill,” Gehlot said in Jodhpur.
Concerning the contentious emergency treatment provision, the minister claimed that it was not open-ended. “We have kept only three emergency categories: animal bite, snake bite, and accident emergency,” Parsadi Lal Meena, the health minister, said, emphasizing the provision of state reimbursements for emergency treatments.
But the private hospitals and doctors did not appear convinced. Their representatives clashed with the police amid water cannons as they urged Governor Kalraj Mishra not to clear the bill.
The Bill, which was introduced in the Assembly on September 22 and later referred to a Select Committee, was approved by voice vote in the House. The bill grants every resident of the state the right to emergency treatment care “without the payment of any requisite fee or charges” from any public health institution, health care establishment, or designated health care centre.
Also Read: Massive Fire At Bharuch GIDC, Fire Tenders Battle Blaze
