VIJAYAWADA: Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav on Friday told the Legislative Assembly that the Dr NTR Vaidya Seva scheme has recorded a sharp rise in beneficiaries and expenditure under the coalition government, countering what he termed ‘misinformation’ about the weakening of free medical services.
Replying to a question from MLA Mohammed Nazir during Question Hour, the Minister said the number of beneficiaries rose by 6.68 per cent in 2024-25, the first year of the coalition government, reaching 13.42 lakh compared to 12.53 lakh in the previous year.
He added that the sanctioned expenditure through pre-authorisations grew by 7.88 per cent during this period. Between June 2024 and September 1, 2025, the scheme incurred an expenditure of about Rs 6,458 crore, with Rs 3,732 crore already paid and Rs 557 crore pending, while bills worth Rs 2,168 crore are under process. “Earlier, the monthly cost was over Rs 300 crore, but now it has risen to more than Rs 400 crore,” he said.
Yadav further stated that the coalition government cleared Rs 2,221 crore in arrears left unpaid by the previous government, exposing its “lack of sincerity towards the poor.” He also highlighted that stricter monitoring has been enforced. Fines of Rs 22.74 crore were imposed on errant hospitals, with 85 per cent recovered, compared to 49 per cent collection in 2023-24, he added.
He announced that a new hybrid health insurance scheme covering 1.63 crore families will be rolled out, offering up to Rs 2.5 lakh coverage through insurance companies and additional coverage up to Rs 25 lakh through NTR Trust.
Guntur GGH will be developed as a Level-1 cancer centre with a new PET CT scanner and funds sanctioned for advanced equipment in the upcoming MCH block, he said, and condemned ‘false propaganda’ that the scheme had stopped.