Chandigarh, February 12
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) senior leader and leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema heavily criticised Congress government over the miserable condition of health services in Punjab. Harpal Cheema said, “The quality and availability of health services in Punjab is not hidden from anyone but, in last few months it has hit its all time low when Channi government terminated the insurance company contract, through which people get benefits of Ayushman Scheme (5 lakh health cover card) , without any second thought.”
In a statement issued from the party headquarters, Harpal Cheema informed that state government has control of Ayushman scheme, Punjab government give contracts to insurance companies through which people access this scheme and can get health services upto 5 lakh rupees. Channi government terminated the old contract with SBI General Insurance on 29th Dec 2021. After that no new contract has been put in place. Harpal Cheema said that to benefit the private players Akali and Congress governments have already destroyed public health system of Punjab and now private hospitals are not entertaining patients under Ayushman Scheme, because in the absence of an insurance company claims are not being paid.
Harpal Cheema said that today poor and common people can’t go to government hospitals because no services are available there and now since Channi government discontinued Ayushman Scheme in Punjab they can’t go to the private hospitals either. He asked Charanjit Singh Channi and health minister O.P. Soni that when they were cancelling the previous contract without any intention of bringing new one, did they thought about for a second about lakhs of poor people of Punjab. He said that who will be responsible for the sufferings of these people who are left quagmire.
Harpal Cheema reiterated that Aam Aadmi Party will implement their second guarantee related to health services as soon as they form the government in Punjab. Cheema said that Punjab’s health system needs to be reformed and only AAP is capable of it like we have done in Delhi. He added that health sector cannot be taken lightly, like the previous governments did. Ignorant Channi government terminated the contract with insurance company without thinking about the public then didn’t set up a new one as they don’t spare any thoughts to the health of common people.
