VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Specialty Hospitals Association (ASHA) has warned that 730 empanelled hospitals will stop providing services under the NTR Vaidya Seva Trust scheme from April 7 if the State government does not clear Rs 3,500 crore in pending dues.
ASHA President Dr K Vijay Kumar said hospitals were struggling due to delayed payments, despite Rs 4,000 crore being allocated for the scheme in the 2025-26 budget. ASHA Secretary Dr C Avinash warned that poor patients relying on the scheme would suffer if funds were not released immediately. Dr Yarlagadda Ramesh highlighted that nearly 400 of 1,940 procedures under Ayushman Bharat had tariffs similar to NTR Vaidya Seva, yet 600 hospitals were left out.
ASHA Vice President Dr SVL Narayana Rao urged Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav to act immediately, warning that ASHA might escalate protests if their concerns were ignored.