HC: Why income ceiling in treatment of haemophiliacs?

MUMBAI : The Bombay high court on Tuesday asked the state government why there is an income-ceiling for providing free treatment and medicines for haemophilia patients .Thecourtobservedthat purchasing expensive medicines will bring any person belowthe poverty line .

A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and JusticeNitin Jamdar washearing a petition by haemophiliacs and the Haemophilia Society seeking direction to the government to approve a pending proposal to provide free treatment to haemophiliacs . At the last hearing , the court was informed by additional government pleader G W Mattos that the National Institute of Immunohaematology was set up by the government at KEM Hospitalfor their treatment . But the petitioner's advocate , Gayatri Singh , submitted that applications of two seriously ill patients , admitted to KEM Hospital , were rejected for not qualifying asbelow poverty lineunder theRajiv GandhiJeevandayiA rogya Yojana .

The judges asked why there was a ceiling on the incomelimitfor providing medicines in such cases . "If (patients ) spend from their own pocket , they'll go below poverty line ,'' said Justice Shah , when told how expensive the treatment is. Mattos told the HC that by Nov 9, the two patients will be given the required blood factors . He said the government has initiated the process for obtaining antihaemophilic factors free of cost. The judges directed the government to complete the procurementby Dec 31 ,2012.