Telangana government promises Rs 100 crore per month for Aarogyasri
HYDERABAD: Health Minister Damodar Rajnarasimha said on Wednesday that the government has been holding discussions with the Federation of Private Network Hospitals for the past month and has assured a monthly release of 100 crore, having already disbursed 100 crore on Monday, to avert the planned strike of Aarogyasri network hospitals.
The hospital managements, however, made no further statement on Tuesday.
Rajnarasimha noted that some private hospital owners, mainly from Warangal, Karimnagar, Nalgonda, and Khammam, were politicising the matter.
He stated, “Some people are acting with political malice. Not all hospitals may go on strike; it seems there are two groups among them. We want the Aarogyasri services to continue.”
Recalling past allocations, he said that in 2014-15, the BRS government released Rs 25 crore per month, while in 2024, the Congress government gave Rs 90 crore per month.
“Now we have assured Rs 100 crore per month. We have revised package rates, increased Aarogyasri coverage from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, and added 163 more treatments,” he added, noting that these changes increased the government’s financial burden by Rs 487 crore.
The minister also clarified that pending Aarogyasri bills were not new and that the government was clearing dues from the previous administration.
He warned that if services were stopped, alternative arrangements would be made in government hospitals.