Shimla: Govt releases Rs 100 cr to clear pending Himcare payments

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 22

The government has released Rs 100 crore to clear the mounting Himcare payments in hospitals.

Due to the pending payments of over Rs 300 crore under the scheme, several hospitals were struggling to provide healthcare under the scheme to the Himcare cardholders.

“The government has released Rs 100 crore, and the amount will be distributed shortly among the hospitals,” said an official from the state health authority.

Maximum bills from igmc, tanda hospital

• Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, Tanda Medical College and PGI, Chandigarh, are among the major hospitals which have raised the maximum bills
• Most suppliers had stopped supplying several medicines to the IGMC’s Jan Aushadhi store due to the pending payments, and some departments had to stop carrying out free surgeries under the scheme

Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, Tanda Medical College and PGI, Chandigarh, are among the major hospitals which have raised the maximum bills.

“The IGMC and Tanda are our main hospitals where the footfall is quite high. Accordingly, the bills raised in these hospitals are also higher compared to other hospitals,” the official said.

PGI, Chandigarh, has also been brought under the ambit of the Himcare scheme, which offers cashless treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh for a family in a year. “We owe around Rs 30 crore to the PGI under the scheme,” the official said.

Meanwhile, the IGMC has run up a bill of around Rs 70 crore under the scheme, and patients have started facing inconvenience due to the delayed payment. Most suppliers have stopped supplying several medicines to the IGMC’s Jan Aushadhi store due to the pending payments and some departments had to stop carrying out free surgeries under the scheme due to the non-availability of costly equipment. The Himcare cardholders get free of cost medicines from the Jan Aushadhi store.

In case medicines are not available here, they have to buy from the market at full cost. “We have sought Rs 30 crore from the government to clear the pending dues and restore the normal supplies. We are hopeful that normal services under the scheme would be restored shortly,” said an IGMC official.

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