Indian Medical Association extends support to protest against Rajasthan’s Right to Health Act

The Indian Medical Association on Tuesday extended support to protests by doctors in Rajasthan against the Right to Health Act introduced by the state government.

According to the Act, which was passed in the state Assembly last week, public and private hospitals must offer emergency treatment to patients without any prepayment when required. This clause is one of the most contentious parts of the law, which has sparked opposition from state’s medical community.

Although the Act mentions that the government will reimburse the hospitals, the protestors say there is no clarity on how or when the reimbursement will take place.

On March 27, nearly 20,000 doctors protested in Jaipur after the Indian Medical Association had called for a nationwide protest against the law in Rajasthan, reported The Quint. The Indian Medical Association’s National President Sharad Kumar Agarwal and Honorary Secretary General Anilkumar Nayak urged the Rajasthan Government to initiate discussions with the protesting doctors and take steps to resolve the matter immediately.

Agarwal and Nayak said that the government should not “run away from the responsibility of providing quality health care to all and for providing adequate infrastructure and facilities for providing the best possible service to the public.

The Indian Medical Association said that if the Rajasthan government would not withdraw...

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