The Haryana unit of Indian medical association (IMA) said 600 private hospitals across the state will stop treating patients under the central government scheme Ayushman Bharat from February 3, according to a report by Times of India.
According to the report, the Centre is yet to clear reimbursement worth Rs 400 crore. In Haryana, around 1,300 hospitals are empaneled with Ayushman Bharat. Of these hospitals, 600 are private facilities. The TOI report stated that 1.2 crore are registered under the scheme. According to the IMA, the decision has been taken as the delayed payment has made it difficult for the hospitals to manage the expenses.
“It has become impossible to run our hospitals without the necessary funds. The speed of reimbursements is sluggish, and new bills keep accumulating. Our payment should be released immediately,” a doctor from a Gurgaon Hospital told TOI.
According to Mahavir Jain, president of Haryana’s IMA, the reimbursements have been pending for months. "Our payments should be released immediately as it is exceeding Rs 400 crore. These medical bills are already discounted by the hospitals. How will they survive if they do not receive the bare minimum,” Jain told TOI.
According to IMA officials, every empaneled private hospital in Haryana received just 10-15% of the reimbursement bills raised with the state government. Every hospital raises a request for reimbursement after treatment. The request is made on an online portal and is supposed to be cleared by the state government.
The TOI report stated that Association members said that the matter was raised with chief minister Nayab Singh Saini at a meeting this month. The CM had reportedly ordered for an immediate release but only a fraction of the dues has been released.
"It is most unfortunate that even after 15 days, our members have not received any significant amount, and the amounts received have substantial unwarranted deductions,” Dhirendar K Soni, secretary of IMA-Haryana, told TOI.
Meanwhile, joint CEO of Ayushman Bharat (Haryana), Ankita Adhikari said she was not "not informed" about the suspension of services.
In Gurgaon, 60 hospitals are empaneled under the scheme, including Park Hospital, Centre For Sight (Gurgaon) and Pushpanjali hospital among others.
The Ayushman Bharat scheme, launched in 2018 by the Narendra Modi-led government, provides free healthcare up to Rs 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.
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