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Hospital stops service to ESI beneficiaries

By Correspondent

BONGAIGAON, July 19 - Lower Assam Hospital and Research Center, a local private hospital, has stopped its health services to the beneficiaries of Employees� State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) from July 15 due to non-payment of pending bills by the Corporation, Dr Itesh Bordoloi, a key doctor of the hospital, told mediapersons on July 16.

According to Dr Bordoloi, his hospital has been providing free services to those employees of the private sectors of the district, who are the beneficiaries of ESIC, since January 28, 2013.

But the corporation has failed to pay the medical bills against its beneficiaries to the hospital in time for which it has become hard to continue the services on the part of the hospital, Dr Bordoloi said.

Currently, the hospital has to an unpaid amount of Rs 3,66,46,717 from the corporation as medical bills against its beneficiaries, as per Dr Bordoloi. The hospital had already intimated the matter to the top officials of the corporation and the Labour Department, but has not received any response.

So, being unable to carry the financial burden of the corporation the hospital has finally shut its services to the ESIC beneficiaries from July 15 and informed the departments concerned.

The ESI beneficiaries have to suffer a lot if they do not get facilities from this private hospital which is capable of handling all the emergency medical services in the district.

Each employee of the private sector pays a part of his or her salary to the corporation for future medical expenses. The employer also contributes his part and deposits all the amount to the corporation every month. So, the money the corporation pays for medical expenses belongs to the employees. In such a condition, why the corporation fails to release the dues to the hospital is a matter that should be inquired into and needs action from the Chief Minister and the Labour and Employment Minister in the interest of poor employees, the owners of the local private units said.

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