Rajasthan govt’s health scheme faces setback

In the state, government employees will no longer receive medicines from pharmacies under the Rajasthan government’s health scheme. Due to prolonged non-payment, authorized medical store operators affiliated with the Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation (RMSC) have decided to halt the sale of medicines through the scheme. Essential medicines (for kidney, blood pressure, and heart) are still being supplied, but even those have been unavailable for over a week.
The decision to cease the supply of medicines was made during a meeting of over 3500 medical store operators organized by the All Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation Official Drug Vendor Association. Sachin Goyal, coordinating in Jaipur for the association, expressed that the government’s delayed payments and unaddressed issues in the portal were major concerns.
Goyal highlighted the agreement’s stipulation for bill payments within 21 days, but the government and the agency are failing to adhere to this timeline. Despite one and a half to two months passing, payments are still pending. Moreover, flaws within the portal exacerbate the situation. The government’s product list should only include items available in the market, but many products on the government’s negative list still appear on the portal, causing inconvenience for vendors, especially those in remote areas.
Vendors also raised concerns about the third-party administrator encountering difficulties in approving bills. Many bills are rejected without justification, and in some cases, the TPAs approve only a fraction of the actual cost, leading to significant challenges for drug vendors.