Chandigarh, 7 AUG

The Haryana chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Thursday announced the suspension of Ayushman Bharat scheme services in the state over pending dues of empanelled hospitals, despite the state government’s assurance to release the payments at the earliest.

In Haryana, the IMA represents nearly 650 private hospitals empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), PM Narendra Modi’s flagship scheme that provides a health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care.

The body had earlier warned that the private hospitals would stop treatment under the scheme from 7 August if pending dues were not cleared. After talks with IMA representatives on Wednesday, Additional Chief Secretary (Health), Haryana, Sudhir Rajpal had appealed to them to reconsider their decision.

IMA's Haryana secretary Dhirender K Soni said on Thursday that the state government has failed to clear the reimbursement of private hospitals.

"The government admits that Rs 490 crore in dues is pending. By the time they disperse this amount, the pendency will keep on increasing. What will private hospitals do? How can they sustain if they do not get reimbursements on time?" he asked.

Soni said that talks were held on Wednesday with Haryana government’s senior officials but it did not yield the desired outcome. 

After the meeting, the Haryana chapter of IMA held a virtual meeting with the private empanelled hospitals under the Ayushman scheme and later it was decided to suspend the services from midnight (beginning 7 August), he said.

Earlier, the Haryana government had said that the claims of empanelled hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat scheme are being settled.

On Wednesday, Additional Chief Secretary (Health), Haryana, Sudhir Rajpal, held a detailed meeting with representatives of the IMA, Haryana, to address their concerns regarding delayed payments under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

An official statement said that Rajpal assured them that the state government is actively releasing payments to the empanelled hospitals and remains fully committed to resolving all outstanding issues.

Rajpal had on Wednesday appealed to the IMA representatives and urged them to reconsider their decision on suspending the service, emphasising that, “Strike would adversely affect thousands of poor patients who depend on the scheme for timely and affordable treatment".

The government maintains that the State Health Agency (SHA), Haryana, has already processed and paid claims submitted by empanelled hospitals up to the first week of May 2025.