Punjab Health Minister refutes Rs 600 crore claim under Ayushman Bharat

Punjab: A day after the private hospitals halted treatments under the Ayushman Bharat Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana, citing an outstanding debt of over Rs 600 crore from the state government, Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh denied the hospitals' claims on Thursday.

The minister said the total pending amount for both public and private hospitals is Rs 364 crore.

According to the PTI report, Singh said the breakup of pending payments shows that Rs 166.67 crore are owed to the public hospitals and Rs 197 crore to the private hospitals.

The minister's reaction came a day after the private hospitals and nursing association (PHANA) claimed that the state government owed over Rs 600 crore and had also threatened to stop providing medical treatments under the Ayushman Bharat Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana.

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Notably, the Ayushman Bharat Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana offers cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year in as many as 772 government and private empanelled hospitals across the state.

The minister said since April 1, 2024, the government has disbursed Rs 101.66 crore to the private hospitals and Rs 112 crore to the public hospitals, news agency PTI reported.

Singh said that technical glitches arose from February after switching to a new software for claim processing launched by the National Health Agency (NHA) which resulted in slowing down the claim processing.

However, the State Health Agency (SHA) took prompt measures, including deputing more staff and working on the weekends and holidays, to address the issue.

To resolve the matter, the minister has called a meeting with the representatives of the PHANA on Friday, adds PTI.

Additionally, a meeting with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also been fixed for September 25 to address any concerns regarding payments.

Meanwhile, the minister said that he has already ordered the state health agency to hire medical professionals to expedite claims processing and ensure timely payments to the empanelled hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana.

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