CGHS dues exceed Rs 1,000 crore, private hospitals threaten to stop cashless treatment facility

With dues shooting past Rs 1,000 crore, private hospitals across the country have threatened to stop cashless treatment under the Central Government Group Health Scheme (CGHS).

Under the scheme, thousands of small, medium and large hospitals are empanelled, majority of which have not received payments since last July.

“We are writing to the government to inform that continuing the cashless treatment under the scheme will not be possible till the outstanding bills are cleared,” Girdhar J Gyani, Director-General of the Association of Healthcare Providers of India, a network of corporate and other private hospitals, told Moneycontrol.

While Max group of hospitals has a total due of nearly Rs 200 crore, for Fortis group, the dues have piled up to over Rs 100 crore. Likewise, Medanta hospital is waiting for a payment of nearly Rs 60 crore, he said.

CGHS covers all current and retired central government employees and their families. Their user base is estimated to be around 40 lakh.

“In a bid to help needy patients, we are ready to offer services at the CGHS rates provided that they pay for it,” Gyani mentioned.

He said that detailed data is being compiled after seeking details of dues from hospitals and the association may call a press conference to go public with this information soon.

Hospital sources pointed out that the government not clearing bills related to CGHS and other similar schemes has become rather a norm and every time the dues pile up, hospitals have to run from pillar to post to get the payments.

No senior official from the health ministry could be available for comments on the issue despite attempts to reach them but a source in the division conceded that there has been a fund crunch.

“We have asked the finance ministry for additional funds and as soon as the sanction comes, the CGHS dues will be cleared,” Gyani said.