
State withholding Ayushman Bharat for Over-70s, says MP
Speaking under Rule 377, Chowta said the scheme, launched last year by the Narendra Modi government, provides citizens aged 70 and above with cashless hospital treatment up toRs5 lakh annually. 'The Karnataka government's refusal to contribute 40% of the cost has effectively stalled its rollout in the state, depriving lakhs of elderly people of critical, life-saving care,' he said.
In the Mangaluru region alone, Chowta noted, about 80,000 senior citizens are unable to access the benefit. He urged the Union government to act swiftly to protect the health rights of Karnataka's elderly and ensure that the state implements the popular scheme in full.

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Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Mint Explainer: Why are private hospitals resisting the government's health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat
Seven years after its launch, Ayushman Bharat, the government's health insurance scheme for the poor, has run into trouble. More than 600 private hospitals in Haryana suspended services for patients under the scheme this month, citing pending dues. Private and public hospitals across the country have been struggling to recover dues from the government for Ayushman Bharat patients they treat. What's going wrong? Mint explains. What is Ayushman Bharat? Also called the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PMJAY), this health insurance scheme was launched in 2018 for India's poorest and most vulnerable people. Each family covered under the scheme gets up to ₹5 lakh cashless health insurance coverage every year. This covers secondary and tertiary care in both public and private hospitals empanelled under the scheme. Since its launch, Ayushman Bharat has issued over 41 crore cards for beneficiaries and authorised hospital admissions worth nearly ₹1.2 trillion in more than 32,000 empanelled hospitals, per latest data from the National Health Authority. How does the scheme work? Families identified at the bottom of the ranks based on deprivation occupational criteria of the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 qualify for the scheme, with different qualifiers for rural and urban families. Families covered under previous health insurance schemes run by the Centre and various state governments were also included in Ayushman Bharat when it launched in 2018. Patients with an Ayushman Bharat card can be treated at an empanelled hospital for free. These hospitals claim the cost of treatment from the state or central health authorities per a rate list fixed by the government under the scheme. What is the problem now? Earlier this month, over 600 private hospitals in Haryana stopped accepting patients covered by the Ayushman Bharat Scheme after more than six months of threatening to do so. These hospitals, represented by the Haryana chapter of the Indian Medical Association, said they had not been paid for the free treatments provided to government-insured patients. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the IMA Haryana said that the Haryana government had cleared only ₹245 crore of the total pending dues worth nearly ₹500 crore as of 7 August. So, is this a Haryana-only problem? No. Private and public hospitals around the country have struggled to recover dues from the government for Ayushman Bharat patients they treat. Three years ago, Chandigarh's prestigious government-run PGI Hospital stopped treatment under Ayushman Bharat after the Punjab government failed to clear dues worth ₹16 crore. Last year, the Nursing House Cell under the IMA suspended cashless treatment for Ayushman Bharat patients in the private hospitals and nursing homes it represents, citing pending dues. Private hospitals in several other states, including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, have been reluctant to join Ayushman Bharat; last November, a Karnataka MP even suggested 'taking action' against private hospitals that refuse to be enrolled in the scheme. How much are hospitals across India owed under the Ayushman Bharat scheme? The National Health Authority has not officially disclosed this figure on its dashboard for the scheme. However, in a reply to a Right to Information query by activist Ajay Basudev Bose, it said that empanelled hospitals were owed over ₹1.21 trillion in unpaid dues as of February this year. The health ministry did not respond to a Mint query regarding pending dues. In 2023, the minister of state in the health ministry said in a Lok Sabha reply that 77% of all claims were settled under the Ayushman Bharat scheme overall, and 86% of all claims made in private hospitals, as of February that year. What happens now? The Centre and various state governments must settle pending dues or issue a formal rejection of claims for cases pending with empanelled hospitals. Bose's RTI query cited above said nearly 64 lakh cases are yet to be settled under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Besides, the IMA and other representative bodies say the prices of various procedures and medical packages under the scheme are too low to be viable; they want these prices to be hiked.


Hans India
10 hours ago
- Hans India
State withholding Ayushman Bharat for Over-70s, says MP
Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta on Monday told the Lok Sabha that Karnataka's refusal to fund its share of the Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana has left senior citizens in the state without free healthcare. Speaking under Rule 377, Chowta said the scheme, launched last year by the Narendra Modi government, provides citizens aged 70 and above with cashless hospital treatment up toRs5 lakh annually. 'The Karnataka government's refusal to contribute 40% of the cost has effectively stalled its rollout in the state, depriving lakhs of elderly people of critical, life-saving care,' he said. In the Mangaluru region alone, Chowta noted, about 80,000 senior citizens are unable to access the benefit. He urged the Union government to act swiftly to protect the health rights of Karnataka's elderly and ensure that the state implements the popular scheme in full.


Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
104 pvt hospitals empanelled under govt health schemes in 6 months
Pune: In just six months, 104 private hospitals across the district have been added to the state's flagship health insurance programme, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY), and central government's Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), according to district health officials. Pune, India - Oct. 3, 2023:A view of the board displaying ward no 16 of Sassoon hospital in Pune India, on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. (Photo by Shankar Narayan/HT PHOTO) The Public Health department had launched a state-wide drive in January to expand the network of hospitals empanelled under the two schemes, which provide citizens free or cashless treatment on several procedures and surgeries. Since the launch of the campaign, the number of empanelled hospitals in Pune district has increased from 98 to 202, said the officials. The MJPJAY scheme was launched in 2012 and revamped in 2023 to make it universal and increase the treatment cover from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh. Under the PMJAY scheme, beneficiaries are provided coverage of upto ₹5 lakh per year, per family. Currently, there are 1,359 private and 672 government facilities empanelled under both schemes in the state, covering 1,352 health procedures. Dr Priti Lokhande, district coordinator of MJPJAY and PMJAY, said that the newly-added 104 hospitals include private hospitals and medical colleges with 30 beds to 200 beds. 'With a larger number of hospitals getting empanelled, specialised and emergency healthcare will become more accessible to people, especially in semi-urban and rural areas. Twenty five other hospitals are also in the process of getting empanelled,' she said. Dr Nagnath Yempalle, district civil surgeon, said that beneficiaries can avail treatment for a wide range of illnesses, surgeries, and procedures without bearing the financial burden. 'The state health department plans to keep up the drive to ensure that people have more choices for treatment nearer home.' However, charitable hospitals in the city are unwilling to participate. On April 21, the state issued a Government Resolution (GR) making it mandatory for such hospitals to join state and central health schemes. In response, the Association of Hospitals (AOH) in Pune filed a writ petition with the Bombay high court, citing financial and practical difficulties as reasons for their opposition to the government decision.