Supreme Court asks Centre to resolve dispute over non-inclusion of private doctors under Covid insurance scheme

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday asked the Centre to sort out the dispute over non-inclusion of doctors and health workers who have lost their lives battling Covid-19 in private clinics, dispensaries and non-recognised hospitals in the Centre's insurance scheme promising Rs 50 lakh to their families.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna said, “You must sort it out. You sit with insurance companies because a monetary component is also involved and the concerned officials in the health department find a solution. The ultimate objective of Centre's policy is welfare of people and it should not be selective."

The bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that it is an issue which concerns many health workers and should be dealt with expeditiously.

“Earlier it was a woman, whose spouse, a doctor, had died due to Covid...while he was treating patients at his clinic. Later several (organisations) of health care workers have come before the court with their pleas against the exclusion. You must look into it. We will hear this matter after three weeks”, the bench said.

Mehta assured the bench he will look into the matter and try to sort it out.

On October 19, the top court had issued notice to the Centre on the plea and had asked it to explain why there was exclusion of private health care workers who have battled the pandemic.

It had said that prima facie the objective of the scheme is to provide social security to health professionals in view of the risk faced by them while battling Covid in public and private institutions.

It had said that the issue is of considerable importance and dealt with the social security of health professionals who have rendered their services during the pandemic.

The top court had asked the Solicitor General to assist the court in the matter.

One Pradeep Arora and others have moved the top court against the March 9 order of the Bombay High Court which had held that the private hospital staffers were not entitled of the benefits under the insurance scheme unless their services were requisitioned by the state or central government.

A plea was filed in the high court by one Kiran Bhaskar Surgade, who had lost her husband to Covid-19, a doctor who used to run his private clinic in Thane, Maharashtra, last year.

The insurance company had rejected her claim under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) insurance policy on the ground that her husband's clinic was not recognised as a Covid-19 hospital.

The PMGKP was announced in March last year, and its coverage has been extended since then. It was launched to provide a safety net to the health workers to ensure that in case of any adversity due to Covid-19, their families are taken care of.

An insurance cover of Rs 50 lakhs is provided to the health care workers under the PMKGP scheme which has become a safety net to the dependents of the Covid warriors who lost their lives to the infection.