Odisha alerts collectors on health card fraud

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A day after the arrest of five from a private hospital in Cuttack on the charge of perpetrating Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) health card scam, the state Health Department has directed collectors and district magistrates to crack down on fraudsters under both the Clinical Establishment Act and BSKY Enforcement rules.

“Health is a basic human need, and the state government is committed to provide quality health care to the citizens of the state. The government has also rolled out BSKY with adequate fund provisions. Any attempt to misutilise the provisions or cheat people in any manner in the name of BSKY,” Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Shalini Pandit said Wednesday.

People are being advised to either directly call toll free numbers or contact district coordinators (DCs) or Swasthya Mitras (engaged in private sector BSKY empanelled hospitals) for any query, doubt or help regarding BSKY card, its auto-renewal, use etc. The district coordinators of BSKY are available at district headquarters in office of the chief district medical and public health officer (CDM and PHO) of the concerned district, and Swasthya Mitras are available in empanelled hospitals at BSKY counters. Generally, CDM and PHO offices are located in district hospitals, she said.

No charge is collected for renewal of BSKY card from any card holder. The state government renews all cards automatically each year, and card holders continue to get cashless treatment as per the entitlement without any break, she informed.

The families having smart BSKY cards or the families enrolled under food security schemes are entitled to get BSKY benefits. People are advised to directly contact the toll-free number 155369 for any card related problem. The personnel at the call centre will take necessary steps for resolution of their issues, and provide necessary information. People can also make pre-contact with toll free number 104 for cashless treatment in any of the empanelled hospitals of their choice. They also can reach directly at the BSKY counter of the hospitals and take the help of Swasthya Mitras.

Besides, people can also communicate their doubts and grievances through toll free number 14545, Twitter account @bskyodisha and Facebook account bskyodisha. Secretary Smt Pandit directed to create wide awareness about these G2C connect points provided under BSKY. The District Coordinators and Swasthya Mitras were also asked to handhold the people with missionary spirit and provide them complete information as per their requirement, she added.

Cuttack urban police had arrested five persons including the owner of a private hospital on the charge of embezzling the BSKY card funds by taking for ride gullible residents of Bayalish Mouza area on Tuesday.