The Private Hospital and Nursing Home Association (PHANA) in Punjab has stopped cashless treatment under the government’s health insurance schemes, including the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)
New Delhi: The ruling AAP in Punjab Saturday accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of discriminating against the state after Union Health Minister J P Nadda asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to clear the dues of private hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
Private hospitals in the state have stopped providing cashless treatment to Ayushman Bharat cardholders due to their mounting dues with the state government.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab unit chief spokesperson and MP Malvinder Singh Kang on Saturday said that of the total outstanding amount of Rs 376 crore under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, Rs 220 crore is owed by the Central government.
He also claimed that the Union government was withholding Rs 950 crore of Punjab’s share under the National Health Mission (NHM).
In addition to these funds, the Narendra Modi government is also withholding the rural development fund (RDF) and mandi development fund (MDF) for Punjab, Kang claimed.
Earlier, Union Health Minister J P Nadda asked Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday to clear the dues of private hospitals in the state to allow the beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat scheme to get free healthcare facilities there.
Private hospitals in the state have stopped providing cashless treatment to Ayushman Bharat cardholders due to their mounting dues with the state government.
Taking a swipe at Mann, Union Health Minister Nadda said it would be better if he concentrated on the “dwindling state of affairs” in Punjab instead of cheering on the Delhi unit of the Aam Aadmi Party.
In a post on X, he said, “I urge Bhagwant Mann to clear the dues of the hospitals as soon as possible, for there are many families, especially our hardworking farmers, benefitting under the Ayushman Bharat programme.”
“Instead of cheering on the party unit in Delhi, it would suit CM Bhagwant Mann to concentrate on the dwindling state of affairs in Punjab,” he added.
A statement that Nadda shared on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s portal noted that the Private Hospital and Nursing Home Association (PHANA) in Punjab has stopped cashless treatment under the government’s health insurance schemes, including the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
The decision was made amid the state government’s unpaid debts amounting to Rs 600 crore. PHANA stated that private healthcare facilities across Punjab will only participate in these schemes once the state government clears the outstanding dues, it added.
Nadda said Ayushman Bharat was conceptualised to aid economically backward families with ensured medical coverage but due to the mismanagement of the state government, people have lost access to free healthcare.
“Why has Chief Minister Mann’s government not cleared the dues of the private hospitals? Before the elections, they promised more clinics and health centres, but today, his government cannot work for the cause of the poor,” he said.
However, as per media report, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh strongly had refuted claims made by the Private Hospitals and Nursing Home Association (PHANA) Punjab that the state government owes over Rs 600 crore for various treatments availed under the the Ayushman Bharat Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojna and termed the statement as “false and misleading,” revealing that the total pending amount for both public and private hospitals is Rs 364 crores.
As per the official data, the breakdown of pending payments shows that Rs 166.67 crores are owed to public hospitals, while private hospitals are due Rs 197 crores. The clarification comes a day after PHANA announced that it would stop all treatments under the Ayushman Bharat Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojna across empaneled private hospitals in the state.
Singh said that since April 1, 2024, the government has disbursed Rs 101.66 crores to private hospitals and Rs 112 crores to public hospitals, totalling Rs 214.30 crores.
He explained that technical glitches arose from February 2024 after switching to new software for claim processing launched by National Health Agency (NHA), which resulted in slowing down the claim processing. However, the State Health Agency (SHA) took prompt measures including deputing more staff and working on weekends and holidays, to address the issue.
To resolve the matter, the Health Minister has called a meeting with PHANA representatives on Friday. Additionally, a meeting with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also been fixed on September 25, 2024, at 3:30 PM to address any concerns regarding payments and SHA functioning.
With input from agencies