Haryana private hospitals to halt Ayushman services over payment dues

IMA Haryana has announced a one-day strike, warning of a complete shutdown if pending claims are not resolved by September 15.

Private hospitals in Haryana have thousands of crores pending as Ayushman Bharat dues, with some payments delayed since January 2026, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Haryana said, threatening a shutdown of scheme services if the issue is not resolved.

Haryana private hospitals to halt Ayushman services over payment dues

The association has announced a one-day strike on September 1, during which Ayushman Bharat facilities at multiple private hospitals across Haryana will remain closed. Dr Ajay Mahajan, chairperson of the Hospital Board of India, IMA Haryana, said private hospitals across the state were facing an estimated ₹1,000 crore in pending bills. The hospital-wise data is already available with Ayushman Bharat Haryana, as all bills are submitted to the authority for processing. IMA Haryana has written to the authorities with the overall estimate of pending dues, rather than submitting a separate hospital-wise or claim-wise breakdown, they said.

“Estimated bills of around ₹1000 crores are pending with the state authorities. It is not a new problem. We have been complaining about delay in payment for three years now, but no permanent solution has been found. Therefore, we are taking up the strike,” he told HT.

Dr Mahajan said that if the situation continues beyond September 15, the board might suggest a complete shutdown of Ayush services at private hospitals until the payments are cleared.

HT spoke to several hospitals in Gurugram and found that three private hospitals had over ₹30 lakh in Ayushman Bharat bills pending. Other hospitals either declined to comment, were unavailable or refused to disclose the figures. Of the 26 private healthcare facilities in Gurugram empanelled under the scheme, a majority agreed that payments were not received within the stipulated 15-day window.

A hospital in Sector-6, Gurugram, said ₹2,709,087 in payments for January 2022 to December 2025 remained pending, along with ₹257,400 for January to August 2026. Another hospital in Sector 15, Part 2, had ₹7 lakh in bills pending since January 2026, while a hospital on Pataudi Road had ₹6.3 lakh pending for the same period.

The Haryana Ayushman Bharat committee denied delays. A senior doctor, part of the committee, said, “There are no delays from our end. We regularly process the payments.”

The doctor, asking not to be named, however, agreed that payments are not made within the prescribed 15-day period. “We have to verify every single claim by every hospital and then release their funds based on what the central government sends us. This process can’t be completed within 15 days; therefore, sometimes it takes 1-2 months to cross-check everything. But the delays mostly occur due to lack of documentation and proof from the hospital’s end,” she told HT.

The doctor said ₹600 crore had been paid in FY2026-27. The department previously cleared ₹1200.9 crore in FY25-26 and ₹1234.5 crore in FY24-25, inclusive of government and private healthcare facilities. Officials said IMA Haryana had been called for a meeting in Panchkula on September 2.