A writ petition was filed before the MP high Court by the father of a 4 year old child who was unable to pay for the child’s treatment. It was submitted by the National Health Mission (NHM) that 40 percent of the costs were borne by them under the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi. Under the aforementioned scheme, 40 percent of the costs are to be borne by NHM and the rest by the Central Government.
The court directed the central government to immediately pay the amount. The court also directed the Central Government to finalize and implement National Policy for rare diseases within 6 months. The court further held that “one time assistance” or “below poverty line” cannot be a pre condition for for granting financial assistance in cases of rare diseases as the diseases do not seek a person on the basis of their financial condition.
Prajwal Shrikhande v. State of MP and ors.
WP No. 18974 /2018
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