CHANDIGARH: Private hospitals in Haryana suspended Ayushman Bharat services for 24 hours on Tuesday following a call by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) over prolonged delays in settling claims. Nearly 650 hospitals have around Rs 1,200 crore in pending dues, with some payments delayed since January.
Private doctors said the 24-hour suspension was symbolic and warned that Ayushman services would be suspended indefinitely from September 16 if their demands, including clearance of pending dues, were not addressed.
Apart from demanding the disbursement of pending Ayushman claims, private doctors are also seeking a fair and transparent claim-settlement process, with proper justification for deductions and a mechanism to ensure that operational issues are discussed and resolved in a timely manner. They are also demanding the inclusion of IMA representatives in the District Grievance Redressal Committee and the state’s empanelment committee.
Dr Ajay Mahajan, chairperson of the Hospital Board of India, IMA Haryana, said that private hospitals across the state were facing an estimated Rs 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.
“We have been complaining about delays in payment for three years now, but no permanent solution has been found,” he said.
Dr Sunila Soni, IMA state president, said that despite an assured timeline of around 15 days for clearing claims, the prolonged delays were making it difficult for hospitals to operate smoothly. She said that in May, the state government had assured the IMA that the pending dues would be cleared at the earliest and that fresh claims would be settled within the prescribed timeline.
“The situation had become extremely serious for some hospitals. One hospital was recently forced to shut down due to financial difficulties. Prolonged delays in reimbursement could continue to create financial strain and affect the ability of hospitals to sustain Ayushman services,” she added.
Soni added, “We had already served an ultimatum to the state government to resolve our demands before September 1. Otherwise, we would suspend the services for 24 hours, from midnight on September 1 to midnight on September 2. As the deadline has passed, we have suspended the services today.”
The Ayushman Bharat scheme is particularly important for economically weaker sections, who depend on empanelled hospitals for cashless treatment. On the other hand, the authorities claimed that no major impact of the one-day strike was visible as government hospitals are already extending Ayushman services.