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Former YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Health Minister Vidadala Rajini strongly criticised the coalition government led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, stating that Aarogyasri has turned into Anarogyasri under his rule.
She said that with over Rs 3,000 crore arrears pending, network hospitals are shutting down services and putting up boards refusing treatment. Despite writing multiple letters to the government demanding clearance of arrears, no action was taken. "Not a single state in the country has seen such a collapse of Aarogyasri services," she said, adding that the coalition has completely failed in the healthcare sector. Rajini pointed out that the previous YSRCP government had expanded Aarogyasri services from 1,059 to 3,257 procedures, introduced Arogyasri Aasara, and increased the number of network hospitals from 900 to 2,300. During COVID, the YSRCP government took every measure to ensure people did not suffer, she said. She said that the Family Doctor scheme was also introduced to bring healthcare closer to the poor. "Now, network doctors are on strike, PHC doctors are on strike, yet the government shows no response. There is no sincerity towards people's health. In an emergency, people are left to suffer on their own. Families are forced to sell assets for education and healthcare," she said. Rajini further criticised the coalition's so-called insurance model saying, "They themselves have no clarity, one time they say it's an insurance model, next time a hybrid model, and even then they limit it to just Rs 2.5 lakh. Both insurance and hybrid models have failed in other states." She added that while other states are adopting YSR's Aarogyasri as a model, the coalition government is trying to kill it. "When diseases like diarrhoea spread, the government is unable to even identify the causes. Instead of addressing public health, they are busy privatising and selling away the medical colleges that our government had set up." The YSR Congress Party demanded that the government immediately clear all arrears owed to network hospitals. "We never went for PPP. Until the government rolls back its PPP model, YSRCP will continue to fight. It is the government's responsibility to provide healthcare. Only when people are given health security and financial security will the state progress. This government is doing neither," Rajini said. (ANI)
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