CPM plans stir against user fee at JIPMER

Communist Party of India (Marxist) would organize a black flag demonstration on September 1 in taluks, commune panchayats and other places demanding a total withdrawal of the user charges announced by the JIPMER authorities for medical investigations and tests. The decision was announced in a convention of the party workers and leaders here on Tuesday. 

CPM’s Tamil Nadu state secretary, G Ramakrishnan, senior party leaders, Gunasekaran, T Murugan, Puducherry state secretary, V Perumal, Cuddalore district secretary, Arumugham, and Villupuram district secretary, Ezhumalai, took part.

Ramakrishnan said JIPMER’s decision would deny the poorest of the poor free and advanced health care and treatment, which has been provided by the JIPMER all these years since its inception.

Ramakrishnan said  the user fee as announced in an order on July 14 by JIPMER, for levying charges from people, who have income of Rs 2,500 per month, would deter the patients from approaching the hospital for treatment. Recalling that the JIPMER had revised their first order following protests by the CPM and other parties, Ramakrishnan said that his party will organize agitations till the total withdrawal of the user charges.

Blaming the Central government for causing Rs 1.86 lakh crore loss to the exchequer in the coal gate as revealed by the latest CAG reports, Ramakrishnan asked why the Centre was imposing medical charges on the poor after making such huge losses to the exchequer.

Senior party leader Gunsekaran said the announcement of user charges was an indicator to the Central government’s intention to make public health system an industry and handing it over fully to the private players in future.

Gunsekaran said that the poor people of Puducherry, Villupuram, Cuddalore and from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh had the only option of JIPMER for receiving quality health care and treatment free of cost. He added that the people from other southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka had also been coming to JIPMER for treatment.

Senior leader, T Murugan, said  the JIPMER authorities have withdrawn the user charges for the cancer investigations after the protests but have not withdrawn the July 14 order completely. It may be recalled that JIPMER authorities have said that all the cancer patients regardless of their income will be provided free treatment for all forms of radio-therapy including Cobalt, Linear Accelerator and Brachy Therapy.