Reported by Avik Chakraborty
Dibrugarh: Hundreds of dialysis patients, relatives, and local residents blocked the Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) road on Monday, voicing strong opposition to a state government decision to withdraw cashless dialysis coverage from private empanelled hospitals from July 1.
The protest was triggered by a notification from the state government.
The order removes chronic haemodialysis, acute haemodialysis, permanent tunnelled catheter placement, and peritoneal dialysis from the ambit of the Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and the Ayushman Asom–Mukhya Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AA-MMJAY) in private facilities.
Protesters argued that the policy shift would overwhelm government institutions, which they said lack the capacity to absorb a sudden surge of patients.
AMCH, the region’s primary tertiary care centre, currently operates only 12 dialysis machines, according to demonstrators.
“Many poor chronic kidney disease patients will die because of this decision,” said one patient participating in the protest.
Another protester, whose daughter undergoes dialysis three times a week, made an appeal to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. “My daughter cannot survive without dialysis. I request the Chief Minister to reconsider and not take away the only support keeping our children alive,” he said.