Stop chanting Arogyasri mantra: Lok Satta

The Lok Satta Party today demanded that the State Government stop chanting the Arogyasri mantra and formulate a comprehensive health care policy on the lines of the National Health Service in Britain.

The problems posed by the proposal to bring dengue fever under the Arogyasri purview should prompt the Government to learn the scheme’s limitations, party spokesmen V. Lakxman Balaji and I. Chennaiah told the media. “The Government should realize that the private sector can’t rise to the occasion if communicable diseases spread swiftly and threaten a disaster. It should honestly ponder why Arogyasri could not guarantee health care although 85 percent of the people are covered by it. Arogyasri by any means is not a panacea for people’s health problems”, said the party leaders.

While Arogyasri aimed at providing tertiary level, super specialty care for a few diseases for a few people in a few hospitals, the National Health Service in Britain enabled every one to access quality health care for all diseases in all hospitals.

The party wanted the Government to go to the immediate rescue of people being crippled economically and health-wise by fevers like malaria and dengue.