HYDERABAD: Payments to government and private network hospitals under the Aarogyasri health scheme are being made regularly and there are no pending salary dues to employees of the Rajiv Aarogyasri Health Care Trust, its CEO Jendage Hanumanth Kondiba said on Sunday.
In a statement, Hanumanth said the Trust had paid Rs 2,840 crore towards Aarogyasri claims to government and private network hospitals between December 8, 2023, and August 23, 2026. The payments averaged around Rs 88 crore a month during the period, compared with an average of Rs 54 crore a month before December 2023.
The clarification came after BRS leader and former minister T Harish Rao alleged earlier in the day that the state government was diluting Aarogyasri and failing to release funds.
The legislator from the Siddipet constituency alleged that salaries of Aarogyasri staff had been pending for 18 months and that the government had failed to keep its promise of paying salaries on the first day of every month.
Harish Rao also claimed that around Rs 24 crore was pending for Aarogyasri and that hospitals had outstanding dues of around Rs 1,400 crore for treating patients under the scheme.
However, Hanumanth categorically denied the allegation regarding salary dues. He said salaries had been paid to Trust employees up to July 2026 and there were no pending salary payments at present. He said eligible beneficiaries across Telangana continued to receive cashless treatment at government and private hospitals empanelled under the scheme.
The annual free treatment limit for each family was increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh in December 2023, Hanumanth said. In 2024, Aarogyasri package rates for 1,375 treatments were revised, with rates increasing by around 22 per cent. Another 163 treatments were added, taking the total number of covered treatments to 1,835. The government also allocated an additional Rs 487.29 crore for the Aarogyasri scheme, he added.
Rs 2,840 cr
The government paid towards Aarogyasri claims to government and private network hospitals between December 8, 2023 and August 23, 2026
Rs 88 cr
Average payments per month during that period
Rs 54 cr
Average monthly payments before December 2023
