PET-CT scans help doctors detect cancer, determine its stage, assess if the disease has spread and monitor the response to treatment
State health minister Prakash Abitkar said, “The decision follows recommendations of a specially appointed study committee, constituted after demands from citizens and empanelled hospitals. Abitkar said, “The move is an important step in Maharashtra’s fight against cancer. Pune: Maharashtra govt has included PET-CT scan under Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) and Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, paving the way for accurate cancer diagnosis and treatment planning without a pocket pinch. The move will make cancer treatment more accessible, enable timely intervention and reduce the financial hardship caused by expensive diagnostic tests. PET-CT scans help doctors detect cancer, determine its stage, assess if the disease has spread and monitor the response to treatment. Until now, the high cost of the test often forced patients from low-income families to postpone or skip it, delaying correct diagnosis and treatment decisions.
By bringing a critical diagnostic test within cashless treatment coverage, the state expects earlier detection, better staging of the disease, improved treatment planning and reduced delay in care for thousands of beneficiaries.
It will now be available as a standalone or primary diagnostic procedure for 13 cancer treatments, where the scan is medically essential.
The public health department issued a govt resolution (GR) on Oct 15 adding PET-CT as an “add-on diagnostic procedure” in 63 cancer treatment packages, up from 44 earlier. The inclusion of PET-CT scan in the state health cover will particularly help patients in rural and semi-urban areas, where advanced diagnostics are often unaffordable or unavailable. The benefit will be available only after a specialist doctor certifies the medical need for the scan. Empanelled hospitals must have the required technical infrastructure, qualified staff and an in-house PET-CT centre. They would also have to obtain prior approval and submit necessary medical documents before conducting the test, stated the GR.
Earlier, cancer-related procedures were covered under MJPJAY, but high-end diagnostics such as PET-CT were largely outside the scheme’s ambit.