Srinagar, March 16: Private hospitals empaneled under the AB-PMJAY SEHAT Scheme in Jammu and Kashmir have been awaiting the release of long-overdue payments totaling Rs 350 crore for months, leaving them in financial distress amid the ongoing suspension of services.
One of the owners of a private hospital in Srinagar said the government’s failure to release pending payments for several months is exacerbating the financial crisis, making it increasingly difficult for hospitals to sustain operations.
“We are still waiting for payments that were promised to us. Nearly 40 to 50 percent of hospital payments for 2024, until October, remain unpaid. This is making things extremely difficult for us,” he said.
Private hospital owners said they were assured last year that all pending payments would be cleared by December, yet half of the dues remain unpaid.
“Many hospitals are on the brink of bankruptcy, struggling to sustain operations. Despite the financial burden, they continue to provide services under the scheme. However, the delay in payments is severely affecting their ability to handle Ayushman cases, creating uncertainty about future healthcare services,” he added.
Hospital owners have appealed to the administration and health department to expedite payments to ensure the smooth functioning of healthcare facilities in the region.
Private hospitals across the UT have suspended their services from March 15, a day after the government decided to reserve four surgical procedures exclusively for public hospitals under the PMJAY, effectively excluding private healthcare facilities.
The heads of hospitals said these decisions are detrimental to private healthcare sector, pushing several facilities to the brink of bankruptcy after months of financial strain.
They added that the government has overlooked critical issues, such as the release of long-overdue payments and the lack of interest on delayed payments.
Following the policy changes on March 14, hospitals have begun laying off staff. They said this extremely difficult decision has impacted all 11,230 employees working across various private hospitals and dialysis centers in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Due to these unforeseen circumstances, we are left with no choice but to initiate a mass exit to 50 percent of the employees working across different departments of the hospitals and dialysis centres across Jammu and Kashmir,” the hospital head said.
The AB-PMJAY SEHAT Scheme in J&K was in the news last year after IFFCO-TOKIO took an exit from the scheme with the result the private hospitals faced payment issues for months. In Sep 2024, private hospitals had halted their services for 10 days after the insurance company had failed to comply with High Court directions.
However, later the Health and Medical Education (H&ME) Department J&K directly released the payment to both government and private hospitals under the PMJAY scheme.
On Feb 06, the private hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir criticized the government’s proposal to reserve four surgical procedures exclusively for public hospitals in the UT. They also opposed removing the UT-specific 10 percent uniform rate enhancement on packages.
In Jammu and Kashmir, there are a total of 251 hospitals empanelled under the PMJAY scheme which includes 133 private hospitals and 118 public hospitals.
