Bring Pune’s Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital under MPJAY and PMJAY, BJP politician writes to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis

Pune: Pune BJP vice president Shyam Deshpande has written to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis stating that Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, which is under the charity commission, must be empanelled on state govt's Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Aarogya Yojana (MPJAY) and Centre-run Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). If the hospital refuses to come on board these schemes, then the benefits it receives from the commission must be stopped, he said.
"The hospital regularly denies services to needy patients under MPJAY and PMJAY by claiming that it is not an empanelled facility. The hospital has procured a prime piece of land in the city on lease for only Rs1. The land is worth hundreds of crores of rupees," Deshpande said in the letter dated April 4.

Desphande further said he will meet the CM and request him to increase the spending by all hospitals under the charity commission from current 2% to 10% because the benefits they get are much more. "Also I would recommend that all such hospitals be covered by these schemes. If they have any problems with regards to reimbursements, they can raise them with govt." As per rule, every hospital should set up an indigent patient fund and credit 2% of its annual gross billing into it.
Reacting to the BJP politician's demand, Dr Dhananajay Kelkar, medical director of the hospital, said their facility is consistently occupied with patients and there are always at least 30-40 patients awaiting admission at a given time. "In such a scenario, we cannot be empanelled on MPJAY or PMJAY as we would not be able to take these patients in."
Dr Priti Lokhande, district coordinator of MPJAY for Pune, said a hospital that wishes to be empanelled must write to their office, but it is voluntary. "Hospitals under the scheme are liable to provide medical services to eligible people for free and then seek reimbursements from govt."
Currently, 116 hospitals in Pune district are empanelled on these schemes, but not all are equipped to provide tertiary care in all departments. As many as 58 hospitals in the city come under the charity commission's office and most of them are tertiary care facilities. In 2024, as per the joint commissioner of charity office in Pune, 86,826 patients reaped benefits under the commission's indigent fund.