I read with much interest, The Breast Cancer
(Awareness and Free Treatment) Bill, 2017, that you introduced in the Winter
Session. While your able assistants may have provided you with perfect
statistics on the disease, the Bill has many lacunae. I am therefore writing to
point them out to you.
Firstly, I am with you on the awareness aspect of the
Bill, not the free treatment. That’s because making this treatment free, will
only make it frivolous among the medical fraternity, especially at government
hospitals. These patients will not be looked at seriously, because “Woh toh
free patient hai”.
Secondly, while cancer is a major threat to thousands
of Indians, it is not fair to tax the government solely for one form of it.
More importantly, there already are many schemes, both
by the government and non-governmental organisations, to help cancer patients
financially. These include the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana
(Maharashtra); two schemes by the Union Ministry of Family Health and Welfare
for poor patients (for those below the poverty line), and every chief
minister’s fund. Many hospitals provide free treatment to cancer patients.
The need of the hour is to ensure that these existing schemes
reach the poor. For many, the word cancer is enough to lose hope. Poor people,
many who are also uneducated, need to be told about these existing schemes.
They need to be counselled regarding finances and treatment. Teams of counsellors
need to be created for this. You should look at this instead of seeking
provision for free treatment.
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