Government to foot BPL families' heart, kidney treatment bills

New Delhi, March 12: The government will fully reimburse families living below the poverty line (BPL) for treatment of heart and kidney diseases, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told the Lok Sabha Friday.

Azad admitted there were inadequate special health centres for heart and kidney diseases in the country.

"We have started a two-pronged strategy -- increasing the number of specialist and super-specialist doctors, and creating infrastructure," he said.

"We are trying to upgrade both human resources and infrastructure simultaneously. This year 4,000 additional specialists and super specialists would be added," he said.

Replying to a question about the health infrastructure, the health minister said a massive programme was in place to reduce the rush of patients to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.

He said that of the eight proposed AIIMS-like institutions being set up in various parts of the country, six would be ready within the next two years.

Azad said due to the heavy influx of patients, people from far away places were facing difficulties in getting treatment at AIIMS.

"However, I want to announce through this house to the people that the government will bear the cost of heart and kidney treatments of patients from BPL families," he said, amid loud applause from the house.