{Pending payments} Pvt hospitals suspend cashless services under Ayushman scheme
The Nursing House Cell (NHC), a body representing private hospitals and nursing homes across the state under the aegis of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), on Saturday formally announced suspension of the cashless services under the Ayushman Bharat scheme for Punjab residents.
(Blurb) AAP spokesperson blames Centre for withholding funds of state government
The Nursing House Cell (NHC), a body representing private hospitals and nursing homes across the state under the aegis of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), on Saturday formally announced suspension of the cashless services under the Ayushman Bharat scheme for Punjab residents.
The NHC stated that they would not resume the services under the scheme till the clearance of pending dues and without any standard operating procedure (SOP) by the state government that such situation would not arise in future.
NHC secretary Dr Navjot Dahiya said earlier a few hospitals had suspended the services. Meetings were held with all the sister associations under the aegis of the IMA in the past four days to ensure every private hospital halts the services under the Ayushman scheme with immediate effect, he said, adding that the government had come up with manipulative figures related to the pending dues.
The representatives of the association, while addressing a press conference in Jalandhar Press Club, said the decision came after months of unresolved payment issues pegged at ₹600 crore for the last six months.
{{/usCountry}}The representatives of the association, while addressing a press conference in Jalandhar Press Club, said the decision came after months of unresolved payment issues pegged at ₹600 crore for the last six months.
{{/usCountry}}“The association apologises to the people of Punjab for the decision, but hospitals are now deeply in debt due to non-payment of dues,” they said. The association added that their representatives had previously engaged with the CEO of the State Health Agency (SHA) and the Punjab health minister but despite repeated assurances regarding payment clearance within 15 days, no action has been taken.
{{/usCountry}}“The association apologises to the people of Punjab for the decision, but hospitals are now deeply in debt due to non-payment of dues,” they said. The association added that their representatives had previously engaged with the CEO of the State Health Agency (SHA) and the Punjab health minister but despite repeated assurances regarding payment clearance within 15 days, no action has been taken.
{{/usCountry}}“The SHA has violated the memorandum of understanding by delaying payments and now it has no legal right to take action against hospitals for denying services. Despite around 300 emails sent by hospitals, the SHA has ordered action against them which points to a vindictive attitude towards private healthcare providers,” they said.
{{/usCountry}}“The SHA has violated the memorandum of understanding by delaying payments and now it has no legal right to take action against hospitals for denying services. Despite around 300 emails sent by hospitals, the SHA has ordered action against them which points to a vindictive attitude towards private healthcare providers,” they said.
{{/usCountry}}Notably, the Ayushman Bharat Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana offers cashless treatment up to ₹5 lakh per family per year in 772 government and private empanelled hospitals across the state.
Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh had claimed that the total pending amount for both public and private hospitals is ₹364 crore instead of ₹600 crore as claimed by the Private Hospital and Nursing Home Association (PHANA). He mentioned that the breakup of pending payments shows that ₹166.67 crore is owed to public hospitals and ₹197 crore to private hospitals.
NHC representatives claimed that the current situation forced hospitals into bankruptcy. “The scheme has been expanded to include patients who can afford private healthcare, thereby overburdening hospitals and depriving the poor of access to care. Many hospitals are struggling to pay their staff and suppliers, taking loans to cover operational costs. Medicine and implant vendors have halted supplies due to unpaid dues,” the NHC claimed.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab unit chief spokesperson and MP Malvinder Singh Kang said that out of the outstanding amount of ₹376 crore under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, ₹220 crore is owed by the Central government. He also claimed that the Union government was withholding ₹950 crore of Punjab’s share under the National Health Mission, ₹6,800 crore under the rural development fund and ₹177 crore under the mandi development fund.
The Centre is withholding over ₹8,000 crore of Punjab across various central schemes, he said while asking Union health minister JP Nadda to explain why funds were being withheld. His comments came a day after Nadda asked CM Bhagwant Mann him to clear the dues of private hospitals while taking a jibe at him, stating, “It will be better if he concentrates on the dwindling state of affairs in Punjab instead of cheering on the Delhi unit of AAP.”