On Thursday, the Indian Medical Associations (IMA) Maharashtra Chapter demanded life insurance cover for private doctors who are treating coronavirus patients. Dr Santosh Kadam, IMA state unit joint secretary said that the private doctors who are treating COVID-19 patients has the same risk as government doctors.

He told reporters that private doctors should also get the life cover and same benefits as given to the government doctors. They are ready to pay the premium. Their demand is to extend the term insurance policy to private doctors too same as the government doctors. He further said that above 44,000 private doctors in the state were treating coronavirus patients and few of them have got infected and also lost their lives.

Hence, on behalf of IMA, he sought martyrs status for such doctors who have lost their lives during the treatment of COVID-19 patients and extension of the Rs 50 lakh term policy to the private doctors.

Kadam also said that recently he met state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and raised the issue while explaining the necessity to provide life insurance to private practitioners also. He also requested that private doctors should also be considered as COVID warriors, equal to others. He informed that in Thane city, almost 17 private hospitals have provided 1,000 beds for coronavirus patients.

Source: ET Healthworld