Ayushman card holders upset as private hospitals discontinue cashless scheme

Upset over deadlock between private healthcare centres and Punjab Government over the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme for certain categories, residents of the region have urged the state government to resolve the problem without further delay.

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Office bearers of the Private Hospital and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA), on the other hand, have announced to stop providing cashless medical facilities to Ayushman Card holders with immediate effect.

Residents led by the Congress block president (rural), Rupinder Singh Kanganwal, alleged the indifference of the state government towards poor people of the state had resulted in a situation where medical facilities were limited to papers and there were no practical applications.

He said, “Unlike earlier times, holders of Ayushman cards have to loiter from one hospital to another to avail themselves of cashless treatment under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme.” He added that the authorities designated at private hospitals argued the government had not cleared their dues for months.

Owners and organisers of private healthcare centres led by the Punjab PHANA state organising secretary, Dr Sunit Hind, argued that they had already advised their front desk offices to ensure that holders of Ayushman Cards were explained that the cashless facility would be available after their dues were cleared.

“As the state government has failed to make payments for services provided over six months ago, we have decided to suspend cashless facilities to holders of the Ayushman Bharat Card,” said Dr Hind. He added the decision was taken in response to a call given by PHANA Punjab.

Hind alleged the Punjab State Health Agency violated guidelines of the MOU signed with the doctor’s body, according to which all payments were supposed to be made within 15 days of the services provided to holders of the Ayushman Bharat Card.

The doctors said their centres were not allowed to undertake key treatment packages such as gall bladder surgeries, hernia surgeries, trauma surgeries and total knee replacements that were reserved for government hospitals and card holders were free to choose from other healthcare centres in other states.

According to recent data, there are 89.30 lakh Ayushman Card holders in the state. While the facility was initially available for BPL card holders, the scheme was extended to lakhs of people from other categories, which resulted in delayed payment of bills submitted by hospitals providing treatment to the beneficiaries.