Punjab: IMA denies to resume treatment under central scheme

IMA Punjab president Dr Sunil Katyal has said that the suspension of work under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme will continue until the pending payments are cleared

Chandigarh

he state has blamed the Centre for delay in paying ₹225 crore in the form of its share for the scheme. (HT File)

The deadlock between the private hospitals and the Punjab health department over treatment of patients under the Ayushman Bharat Sehat Bima Yojna continued to persist with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) denying to resume treatment under the insurance scheme on Wednesday.

According to insiders in the health department, health and family welfare minister Dr Balbir Singh attended a meeting with the IMA here in the presence of senior department officials and announced that the private hospitals would immediately start the treatment.

IMA Punjab president Dr Sunil Katyal was also present at the meeting.

However, the IMA president in contrary said: “Until the pending payments are cleared and The Turnaround Time (TAT) for future payments is consistently adhered to, the suspension of work under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme will continue.”

“The government data shows a backlog of payments amounting to ₹190 crore. Additionally, there are approximately 89,000 cases still in the pipeline, with an estimated total of ₹200 crore yet to be processed. This delay is significantly affecting the financial health of hospitals and healthcare providers. We will not work until the pending payments are cleared,” added the IMA chief.

Sources in the health department said that the IMA president had earlier agreed to the health minister’s announcement.

The Nursing House Cell (NHC), a body representing private hospitals and nursing homes across the state under the aegis of the IMA, on Saturday had announced suspension of cashless services under the scheme claiming that the government version on pending dues is incorrect.

The state government had earlier hired a private insurance company for disbursement of claims. Private hospitals now rue that the health agency has to give ₹600 crores as dues to them.

However, state health minister Dr Balbir Singh says the figures are inflated and only ₹197 crore is owed to them. “The total pending amount for both public and private hospitals is ₹364 crore. As per the official data, ₹166.67 crore is owed to public hospitals, while private hospitals are due ₹197 crore. Since April 1, 2024, the state government has disbursed ₹101.66 crore to private hospitals and ₹112 crore to public hospitals, totalling ₹214.30 crores,” the minister added.

The state has blamed the Centre for delay in paying ₹225 crore in the form of its share for the scheme.

According to the health minister, the pendency is because of utilisation certificates sought by the Centre for the spendings during previous regimes.