Karnal pvt hospitals halt Ayushman, Chirayu services over dues, ‘graft’

With the recent arrest of Dr Ravi Vimal, Deputy CEO of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, in an alleged bribery case, and the recovery of over Rs 1 crore by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, private hospitals in Karnal are up in arms against the system and have halted services under Ayushman Bharat and Chirayu cards. As a result, patients are facing difficulties.

Private doctors claim extreme harassment due to non-feasible rules and regulations enforced allegedly by some officers. They said that they were neither against the scheme nor the government, but wanted a streamlined system. As per doctors, the Ayushman Bharat scheme, a flagship initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is an excellent programme to provide quality healthcare to the needy across Haryana and the country.

Challenges galore, says association

• An association representing private hospitals accepting Ayushman cards outlined several challenges that hinder the smooth functioning of the scheme, including non-disbursement and delays in payments, unexplained deductions, technical glitches and claim rejections.
• A senior doctor from the association, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said hospitals were struggling to receive payments for services rendered in the past.

An association representing private hospitals accepting Ayushman cards outlined several challenges that hinder the smooth functioning of the scheme, including non-disbursement and delays in payments, unexplained deductions, technical glitches and claim rejections.

A senior doctor from the association, speaking on the condition of anonymity, explained that hospitals were struggling to receive payments for services rendered in the past.

Dr Vimal was arrested, on the complaint of a senior doctor of Karnal, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh for the re-empanelment of a hospital under the Ayushman scheme. His arrest has brought attention to what many doctors describe as systemic harassment. “The accused’s modus operandi involved harassing doctors through claim rejections, unwarranted deductions, unexplained queries, suspensions of registration and frequent issuance of show-cause notices,” said a member of the association.

“For the past two days, over 40 private hospitals have stopped accepting these cards. We simply want the scheme to run smoothly, as it was intended,” said another doctor. The doctors’ key demands include timely payments according to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), without any rejections after approval. The association stated that it was eager to resume services for the benefit of society, but only once the daily hurdles it faced were addressed.

When contacted, Sangeeta Tetarwal, CEO of Ayushman Bharat, Haryana, said that the payment disbursement process had already begun. She urged doctors to resume services, promising that the government would fulfil its commitments.