Haryana assures IMA to clear pending dues under Ayushman Bharat Yojana

Chandigarh: The Haryana government assured the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday that it would clear pending dues to private hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana. The government also announced that a budget of Rs 2,500 crore would be allocated for the settlement and timely payment of claims under the scheme for the next year.

Chief Principal Secretary to the Haryana Chief Minister Rajesh Khullar, and representatives of the IMA held a meeting here on Monday, in which an assurance was given that the demands put forth by the IMA will be fulfilled, said an official release, reports PTI.

All applications received for claims under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana till March 10 will be paid by March 31, it said.

An adequate amount will be approved for the department in the revised budget, it said.

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A budget of Rs 2,500 crore will be provided for settlement and timely payment of claims under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana for the next year, it added.

Representatives of the Haryana unit of IMA expressed their gratitude to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini for his “prompt action" in considering their demands.

Sangeeta Tetarwal, Chief Executive Officer of Ayushman Bharat Haryana Health Protection Authority, said Rs 195 crore has been paid for the claim applications received from January 1 till now.

The remaining pending claims will be paid in February and the claim applications received till March 10 will be settled by March 31, 2025, the officer said. She said the process of claims was explained in detail in Monday’s meeting.

It was decided in the meeting that the claims related to medicine and pediatrics will be processed by a special team of specialised doctors, the statement said.

The statement added that information about suspicious cases that will be detected using Artificial Intelligence will be shared with hospitals as soon as possible.

According to the PTI report, she said if the claim amount has been reduced for any reason, then the hospital will give detailed information about the reasons for that reduction.

Doctors will be retrained to inspect the claim, so that the payment of the claim can be ensured in a timely manner and unnecessary deductions are not made, she said.

Tetarwal added that if a patient is not willing to get treatment under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, then he will be given the option to get treatment at his own expense. And strict instructions have been issued to the concerned officials to pay the claim amount within the stipulated time limit, the officer said.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Haryana unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) announced on Sunday that around 600 private hospitals across the state will cease providing services under the Ayushman Bharat scheme from February 3. The decision follows the government's failure to clear pending reimbursements totalling Rs 400 crore.

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