Around 600 private hospitals in Haryana have announced that they will stop treating patients under the Ayushman Bharat scheme starting February 3. This decision comes after the state government failed to clear reimbursements worth ₹400 crore, according to the Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) state unit.
The Ayushman Bharat scheme, launched in 2018 by the Narendra Modi-led government, provides free healthcare up to ₹5 lakh per family per year. About 1.2 crore individuals in the state have enlisted under the initiative, which covers everything from regular testing to surgery.
However, with the government’s delay in releasing payments, hospitals are finding it challenging to manage their expenses. “The speed of reimbursements is sluggish, and new bills keep accumulating. Our payments should be released immediately,” said a doctor from one of the empanelled hospitals in Gurgaon.
According to Dr. Mahavir Jain, president of IMA (Haryana), reimbursements to private hospitals had been pending for months. “Our payments should be released immediately as it is exceedingly difficult for doctors to operate hospitals without funds. Around ₹400 crore is pending. These medical bills are already discounted by the hospitals. How will they survive if they do not receive the bare minimum?” he added.
IMA officials stated that hospitals have received only 10-15% of the reimbursement bills raised with the government. Usually, each hospital submits a reimbursement request after treating a patient covered by the healthcare program. The request is submitted through an online portal and is expected to be approved by the state government, which subsequently reimburses the hospitals.
The issue was raised with Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini at a meeting earlier, and he ordered the prompt distribution of funds. However, hospitals only received a portion of the outstanding balance.
Dhirendar K Soni, secretary of IMA-Haryana, said that it is extremely unfortunate that even after 15 days, the members have not received any significant amount, and the funds received have ‘substantial unwarranted deductions’.
When asked about the announcement, Ankita Adhikari, joint CEO of Ayushman Bharat (Haryana), told TOI that it was “not informed” of the cessation of services. “We have already initiated the fund release. We are optimistic that within a week, the issue will be resolved, and there will be no requirement for such a drastic step,” she added.
The initiative covers 60 hospitals in Gurgaon, including Park Hospital, Centre for Sight (Gurgaon), Pushpanjali Hospital, Muskaan Dentals, Kamla Hospital, and others.
Dr. Jyoti Yadav of Kamla Hospital has assured that the suspension of services from February 3 remains in place. “We will support IMA and shut down the services from Feb 3. We get around one to two new patients under Ayushman Bharat daily in our hospital. We conduct eye surgeries, which will not be conducted if we suspend the services,” Dr. Jyoti added.
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