The AIIMS Resident Doctors Association has strongly opposed a proposal from one center to evaluate the tuition fees of the students from the prestigious medical college and the user charges for various diagnostic procedures like blood tests, X-rays and OPD charges for its patients.

AIIMS RDA strongly opposed the proposal, saying that it supports quality and affordable education for all sections of the society. The proposal has been suggesteddue to a drastic hike in the hostel charges and other fees for the JNU students.

AIIMS RDA in a statement said that quality education and healthcare are the building blocks of our nation and they will not allow any person, organization or the government to compromise on them in any aspect. It also further added that they need educated and skilled citizens to fulfil the long-cherished dream of a developed nation. This dream can be fulfilled only if both the central and state governments make available quality education affordable and healthcare accessible to all citizens.

AIIMS RDA president, Dr Amarinder Malhi, said that, the resident doctors, are against the memorandum issued by the administration. They are against any kind of increase in the tuition fees of students and user charges for patients in all medical institutes. They also request all policy makers to think logically and take concrete steps in such direction that the nation can do far better than where it stands at present in the global healthcare access and quality (HAQ) index as well as the global quality Education Index (EI).

On Friday, the Union Health Ministry had asked AIIMS, New Delhi, to evaluate the user fees for its patients and prepare a model rate-chart that can be replicated in all six such premier institutes across the country to bring equality in their user charges.

According to a senior health ministry official, the Central Institute Body (CIB) of the six AIIMS, including the one in Delhi, headed by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has decided to assess the tuition fees of students and fix an uniform user charge on several diagnostic procedures like blood tests and X-rays.

The official said that under the Centres instruction, the New Delhi AIIMS administration has directed all its departments, sections, wings and facilities to submit details of charges levied in a particular format, specifying various services, their actual current cost and the reasons for setting the user charges lower than the existing cost.

The Union Health Ministry had repeatedly asked the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to review and revise its user charges that have not been changed in the last 20 years, on the Union Finance Ministry direction.

Citing Rule 47 of the General Financial Rules, 2017, the memorandum said that "the user charge is an important component of the non-tax revenues of the institute and each ministry/department should undertake an exercise to identify the user fees levied by it and publish the same on its website".

It stated that while fixing the rates of user charges, the ministries/departments should ensure that the user fees recover the existing cost of providing services with reasonable return on capital investment. Any deviation from these principles shall be specifically recorded with reasons justifying the setting of user charges lower than the cost recovery norms, if any.

A government official said the AIIMS had demanded an additional allocation amounting to over Rs 300 crore in non-plan expenditures that includes for consumable, maintenance and salaries, among others, which are of recurring nature.The official said that the user charges have not been revised since 1996.

An internal committee, constituted in 2017 to assess the user charges at the hospital, had recommended against charging money for tests and procedures that cost less than Rs 500 at the institute.

Hence, it was then suggested that private ward charges at the AIIMS should be increased to cover up for the loss as their rates are less than semi-private wards in corporate hospitals that can be accessed by people under Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).

Source: India Today