Himachal CM urged to clear dues of private hospitals

Dr Naresh Vermani, president of the Kangra District Private Hospital Doctors Association, has urged Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to immediately release the long-pending payments of private hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat and HIMCARE schemes.

Addressing the media on Sunday, Dr Vermani criticised the state government for what he termed as “delaying tactics” in clearing hospital dues that have remained pending for the past one and a half years. He said private hospitals had fulfilled their responsibilities strictly as per government policy and at fixed tariffs and hence, their payments must be released without further delay.

Highlighting the growing financial distress, Dr Vermani said small and medium-sized hospitals were on the verge of collapse, with many having to take loans to pay staff salaries and meet operational costs. Despite repeated assurances, he said, the government had failed to clear the dues. “If any irregularities were detected, the government should have made them public. So far, no such evidence has been shared,” he added. Dr Vermani claimed that over Rs 356 crore in liabilities under the HIMCARE and Ayushman Bharat schemes were pending towards private hospitals in Himachal Pradesh.

Refuting allegations of inflated billing, he said, “If fraud was suspected, why was the HIMCARE scheme continued till August 31, 2024? Why wasn’t it discontinued in 2023?” He termed the government’s move to withhold payments on this pretext as unjustified.

Reminding the government of the private healthcare sector’s crucial role during the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Vermani said private hospitals had ensured uninterrupted services at a time when many government facilities were barely functional.