Private Haryana hospitals to stop Ayushman services from February 3
What's the story
At least 600 private hospitals in Haryana have announced they will suspend services under the Ayushman Bharat scheme from February 3.
The Indian Medical Association's (IMA) state unit took the decision as the government has not paid them ₹400 crore in reimbursements.
IMA (Haryana) president Dr. Mahavir Jain said the delayed payments have put a financial strain on hospitals.
He revealed that hospitals have only received 10-15% of their reimbursement claims till now.
Payment delay
Hospitals received only fraction of reimbursement claims
The issue was earlier raised with Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who directed a swift release of funds.
However, hospitals only received a part of the dues with huge deductions.
Dhirendar K Soni, secretary of IMA-Haryana, expressed disappointment over the situation. He said, "It is most unfortunate that even after 15 days, our members have not received any significant amount."
Uninformed decision
Ayushman Bharat officials unaware of service suspension
The Ayushman Bharat scheme, launched in 2018 by the Narendra Modi-led government, covers around 1.2 crore individuals in Haryana and provides free healthcare up to ₹5 lakh per family annually.
"Unfortunately, launch of Chirayu Cards in Nov 2022 made payments very erratic due to the sheer numbers. We have been giving representations to you for the same for the last two years," the IMA said in a letter.
Twitter Post
Read the letter here
Indian Medical Association, Haryana to suspend Ayushman scheme services from 3rd Feb due to alleged pending dues of empanelled hospitals in the state pic.twitter.com/8FPq4YUWQW
— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2025
Operational difficulties
Financial challenges hinder hospital operations
The IMA further urged Sangeeta Tetarwal, CEO of Ayushman Bharat Haryana, to pay unpaid dues promptly and allocate the roughly ₹2,000 crore rupees per year for this scheme.
In addition, they requested that interest on delayed payments be calculated in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and paid to all relevant hospitals.
In Gurgaon alone, 60 hospitals are participating in this initiative.