Rajasthan private hospitals suspend cashless medicine services over unpaid dues

The move threatens to disrupt the state's cashless medicine network under the Rajasthan Government Health Scheme (RGHS).

When questioned about the matter, State Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar stated on Tuesday that he had no information about RAHA's decision to halt service delivery under this scheme.

On March 24, on the occasion of World TB Day, a press conference was organised at SMS Medical College. Responding to the reporters at the conference, Khimsar stated that he had not been provided with any information regarding this matter. He said, "I am unaware of this; my officials have not informed me about it. I will resolve this issue by speaking with them."

Reacting to the minister's statement, speaking to TOI, an office-bearer of RAHA said that their representatives had met with officials of the Rajasthan State Health Assurance Agency (RSHAA). Through a formal letter, the representatives informed them that if immediate relief regarding pending payments was not provided, cashless medicine facilities at RGHS OPD pharmacies in private hospitals would be suspended starting at 8:00 AM on Wednesday.

This decision was made under extremely stressful circumstances, owing to delays in government payments over the past several months. Due to these delays, it had become difficult for private hospitals and OPD pharmacies to continue the cashless distribution of medicines, for both financial and operational reasons.

Subsequently, Khimsar also claimed that the RGHS scheme was already incurring heavy financial losses before the Health Department took over control from the Finance Department in 2025, and he emphasised that the State Government has since significantly reduced these losses. He stated, "Since we took charge of this scheme, we have reduced the losses under RGHS to ₹700 crore. We will not tolerate any kind of loss”.