Doctors to take less fees from BPL patients in Bihar

After a marathon meeting with RJD MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who has launched an agitation against doctors for "fleecing" common man, medical practitioners today decided to charge nominal fees from patients belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL).
"Keeping in view of the genuine concerns of Pappu Yadav about poor patients, we have decided to issue a circular to all the doctors to take less fees from BPL patients and put a rate list at their clinics or hospitals," IMA Bihar senior vice-president Sahajanand Prasad Singh and Bihar Health Services Association (BHSA) general secretary Ajay Kumar said.
Mediapersons were allowed to be present during the three- hour long meeting which was marked by occasional heated exchange between the two sides.

The Madhepura MP, however, was not satisfied with the concession for BPL patients and stuck to his 'jan adalat' (public hearing cum rally) programme at Saharsa on October 13.
"I will organise the 'jan adalat' to make the state and Central governments aware of what is happening in the medical field. It will be followed by a state-wide agitation. I will also raise the issue in the Lok Sabha during its winter session," Yadav told reporters.
The MP had condemned doctors "flesh-eating devils" over the past couple of weeks for allegedly "fleecing" patients by "overcharging" them and threatened to take them to task if they did not mend their ways.

Yadav had also told that doctors to fix their fees between Rs 100 and 300 depending on their qualification and experience, and demanded implementation of the Clinical Establishments Act (CEA) passed by the state government for better treatment and welfare of patients.

The RJD MP's outburst against doctors provided an opportunity to BJP to slam the JD(U) government in the state alleging it reminded people of the return of RJD "jungle raj".
At today's meeting called by IMA Bihar and BHSA, doctors, in their defence, cited high cost of medical equipment, chemicals used in pathological laboratories, flaws in the CEA and non-notification of its rules so far.

They also protested against Yadav's use of "ugly" words against them and asked him to take back his words and not to create an atmosphere of fear among the doctors.
Reacting to this, Yadav said he had used those words only for the "fake, greedy and unqualified doctors" who used to rob patients on various pretexts.