PANJIM: Goa government is all set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra, this week, to empanel State-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) under latter’s Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, in a bid to provide free medical treatment.
Speaking to media persons on Monday, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said that GMC Dean Dr Pradip Naik would be signing MoU on behalf of Goa government extending the facilities of the hospital to Maharashtra residents.
Rane said that after signing of the MoU, all the cardholders of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana of Maharashtra government would be eligible to avail free medical treatment at GMC. “It is a great move as it will also help us to recover money from Maharashtra government for providing treatment to their patients,” he said.
From January this year onwards, State government had started charging non-Goan patients availing treatment at GMC as the hospital was getting overloaded with the admissions and referrals from outside the State especially from Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Details of MoU were finalised through a video-conferencing between him and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, last week.
“There were some issues which needed to be discussed, which were sorted out during discussion with Maharashtra CM,” he said adding that though the patients from Maharashtra were allowed treatment free of cost in GMC, the decision to charge them was taken considering the increasing load on this facility.
