Chandigarh, March 24: The Punjab government is actively considering a proposal to list hospitals in other states for the treatment of child cancer patients under its official health insurance scheme, an official announced on Tuesday.
Dr. Gagandeep Singh Grover, Assistant Director of the Non-Communicable Diseases Department in Punjab’s Health and Family Welfare Department, stated that a request for listing was recently received from a hospital in Gurugram, Haryana, where five patients from Punjab were transferred for treatment.
He made these remarks during a state-level consultation workshop aimed at improving access to treatment for children suffering from cancer.
Dr. Sushil Mahi, Director of the Non-Communicable Diseases Department in Haryana, expressed the state government’s willingness to explore all options to help children receive cancer treatment at excellent centers near their homes.
Poonam Baghai, a member of the ICMR Central Human Research Policy Committee, founder of CanKids, and representative of Childhood Cancer International for the WHO Southeast Asia region, emphasized the need for collaboration among six states and union territories in Northwest India. Patients from these regions often seek treatment in neighboring states.
There are examples from Uttar Pradesh where patients have utilized financial assistance from their state for treatment in hospitals in Madhya Pradesh. However, the interoperability of government insurance schemes among the six northern states and union territories remains limited.
Baghai highlighted the necessity for state governments to work together as stakeholders to find solutions for the 4,400 children suffering from cancer in the region, ensuring that if a patient opts for treatment in a more accessible center in a neighboring state, the financial assistance from their home state continues.
For instance, a beneficiary of the Punjab Chief Minister Relief Fund should receive free treatment in Haryana, or children from Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh should be able to benefit from their government’s financial assistance plans while receiving treatment at PGIMER in Chandigarh.
The statement noted that attendees of the conference included Professor Shruti Kakkar from the Pediatric Department at CMC Ludhiana and Professor Amita Trehan from the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Unit at the Advanced Pediatric Center in PGIMER, Chandigarh.
The sessions at the conference focused on an integrated model for comprehensive child cancer care in Northwest India, addressing financial gaps in health services, the role of tertiary centers in improving survival outcomes, and leveraging partnerships between government and non-governmental organizations for impactful policy implementation.
Baghai announced that a task force will soon be established to coordinate with state governments and other stakeholders to ensure that children suffering from cancer in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh receive seamless access to the best treatment funded by their respective state governments, regardless of geographical boundaries.
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