Why Are Private Hospitals In Jharkhand Halting Treatment For Ayushman Bharat Patients?

Recently, private hospitals in Jharkhand decided to stop providing their services to the patients falling under the Ayushman Bharat health scheme. The state's association of private hospitals issued a notice on Sunday stating their inability to treat the scheme's beneficiaries due to the non-payment of the dues by the Jharkhand government.

The 'Ayushman Bharat' National Health Scheme provides cashless treatment to people belonging to the low-income bracket. While many hospitals give the services to the public concerned, the dues have to be paid by the state government. In this case, the failure to do so has resulted in several beneficiaries in Jharkhand being denied treatment.

'Acute Financial Crisis'

According to The Times of India, several private hospitals have not been paid since September last year. Not only that, some have not received money since November 2021. "We have been continuously serving the beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat at our hospitals. We have always taken pride in serving the poor and underprivileged patients with the best amenities. However, we have been facing an acute financial crisis due to the non-payment of dues by the state health department," said the notification.

As a result, many hospitals do not have enough resources for the patients. Districts such as Dhanbad, Godda, Giridih, Garhwa, Ranchi and Hazaribag have already stopped admitting the Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries, including those who need kidney dialysis under the scheme. This has come at an unfortunate cost, as many patients who need necessary treatment are left to fend for themselves.

Need Of The Hour

Speaking to India Today, Indian Medical Association (IMA)'s Jharkhand vertical's president, Dr Shambhu, stated that around 3 lakh people in the state avail the Ayushman Bharat services. The non-payment has adversely affected their services. Therefore, the IMA and the Hospital Board of India (HBIJ) will disclose their strategy for further action today, April 23.

In response, the scheme's nodal body in Jharkhand claims that they have released ₹170 crores to the concerned insurance companies. It also added that they had provided ₹30 crores to the hospitals. Many healthcare organisations came together and visited the state's health minister, putting forward their demands. They include the payment cycle restoration in fifteen days and no suspensions or fines levied by the government on flimsy and irrelevant grounds.

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