Public hospitals in the State are on the verge of a slippery slope as shortage of drugs in general supply is aggravated by an acute shortage of funds for even making local purchase of drugs, affecting the day to day administration of many institutions.
A glance at the huge pending payments due to public hospitals from the government, running into hundreds of crores of rupees, is a clear indication of the crisis escalating in public hospitals.
By the government’s own statement in the Assembly, the money that it owes to public hospitals by way of reimbursement for free treatment given to beneficiaries under various schemes runs to ₹1,354 crore. This is a liability that the government has run up over and above its health budget for 2023-24 (₹9,939 crore) and is around 13.5% of the total allocation.
