‘Syringe priced at Rs 60 at JNIMS; patient billed for 215 syringes in 10 days’ CM assures probe into Health Card ‘scam’

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Mar 16 : Chief Minister Y Khemchand has assured a departmental enquiry into allegations of massive financial irregularities and "looting" of public funds under the State's flagship health schemes.
The decision follows a heated debate in the State Assembly where MLA K Ranjit Singh moved a cut motion, presenting evidence of systematic overcharging and fraudulent billing by empanelled hospitals and a third-party administrator.
K Ranjit highlighted a stark disparity between the actual cost of medical procedures and the amounts being billed to the Chief Minister-gi Hakshelgi Teng- bang (CMHT) and Ayush-man Bharat (PMJAY) schemes.
A South India-based company, "Medi-Assist," was authorized to manage scheme implementation. The MLA alleged that the State Government pays nearly Rs 2.75 crore annually to this company, yet serious discrepancies in billing have surfaced under their watch.
Ranjit cited a specific case of a patient with a leg fracture. While the agreed package for the surgery was approximately Rs 14,000, a private hospital in Imphal reportedly billed a total of Rs 55,000. After the health card covered its portion, the patient was still allegedly forced to pay Rs 41,000 out of pocket.
The Congress MLA also presented documentation showing that a single syringe, which costs roughly Rs 7 in the open market, was being billed at Rs 51 at certain empanelled pharmacies. He further noted that the price of the same syringe varied wildly across different hospitals, Rs 28.60 at RIMS, Rs 20 at Shija Hospital, and Rs 60 at JNIMS. In the wholesale market  five syringes are sold for Rs 10.
In one instance, a patient hospitalized for 10 days was billed for 215 syringes, costing approximately Rs 16,000. This indicates that the 215 syringes were used on the patient in 10 days !
Responding to the cut motion, Chief Minister Khemchand expressed serious concern over the MLA’s observations, particularly the "unreasonable" pricing of basic consumables like syringes.
"Charging Rs 16,000 for 215 syringes for a single patient in 10 days is a very serious matter. We will not tolerate the looting of public money meant for the poor," the Chief Minister stated.
The Chief Minister assured that a thorough inves- tigation will be conducted by officials, including those from outside the Health Dept to ensure impartiality.
Khemchand further assured the House that if any wrongdoing is found, the responsible parties—whether hospital authorities or the management company—will face strict legal action.
The CMHT scheme was launched in 2017 to provide cashless treatment to the poor and vulnerable sections of society, initially offering coverage up to Rs 2 lakh, which was later increased to Rs 5 lakh in 2018 to align with the Central PMJAY scheme. The cut motion was later withdrawn and a demand for grant of Rs 1423,53,69,000 pertaining to Medical, Health and Family Welfare was passed.