Government delays insurance cover for robotic surgery at Mumbai JJ Hospital
The Maharashtra government has failed to clear a two-year-old proposal to include robotic and bariatric surgeries under the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) health insurance scheme, threatening the future of free advanced surgeries at the state-run Sir J. J. Group of Hospitals in Mumbai. The hospital, which formally launched its robotic surgical services on April 9, 2025, has been offering these procedures to poor patients for free, but faces a funding crisis as expensive specialized consumables near exhaustion.
Dr. Ajay Suman Haribhau Bhandarwar, Dean of Grant Government Medical College and Sir J. J. Group of Hospitals, confirmed that the proposal was submitted nearly two years ago, but no decision has been taken.
Sir J. J. Group of Hospitals is the only state-run hospital in Mumbai offering robotic surgeries. Since launching the service, it has completed over 260 robotic procedures across specialties including gastrointestinal surgery, colorectal surgery, urology, hernia repair, and gynecology.
However, the specialized instruments and disposable consumables required for every procedure are expensive and will soon need replacement. Unlike conventional surgical instruments, robotic procedures rely on specialized scissors, graspers, needle drivers, and energy devices that have a fixed number of uses. The system automatically rejects and disables these instruments once their limit is exhausted.
According to hospital officials, the initial package supplied with the robotic platform includes consumables sufficient for around 500 procedures. Having completed over 260 surgeries, the hospital has crossed the halfway mark. Dr. Bhandarwar stated that the recurring cost of consumables alone is around Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh per surgery.
To continue offering the procedures free of cost, the hospital is temporarily claiming reimbursements under existing laparoscopic surgery packages. Dr. Girish Bakshi, Professor and Head of the Department of Surgery, warned that this is only a temporary arrangement. He noted that once the initial stock is exhausted, either the hospital will have to bear the cost or patients will have to pay.
The hospital's request to include bariatric surgery under the scheme has also been pending since 2012.
Dr. Ravindrakumar Shetye, Assistant Director (Health Services) at the State Health Assurance Society, confirmed that the proposal remains under consideration. He stated that while the proposal has the potential to benefit patients, the high expenditures associated with robotic procedures require careful financial evaluation.
