Srinagar, Feb 06: The J&K government’s recent proposal to reserve four surgical procedures exclusively for public hospitals has sparked criticism from private healthcare providers, with some threatening to terminate their contracts with the State Health Agency (SHA) if their demands are not addressed.
On Thursday, the J&K Private Hospitals and Dialysis Centers Association, in a letter to the CEO of AB-PMJAY, J&K, stated that they had learned about the 9th Governing Council Meeting held on January 19, 2025.
“During the meeting, several decisions were made, including the reservation of four procedures for public hospitals, a 10 percent reduction in UT-specific incentives, and the implementation of Health Benefit Package (HBP) 2.2 instead of HBP 2022,” it said.
The association said the decisions aren’t in their interests calling it anti-private sector which will take them to the verge of bankruptcy saying they are suffering over the past 10 months.
“In the Governing Council Meeting nothing was decided regarding the release of our long pending Bajaj payments, one percent interest for the delayed payments, review and reimbursement of non-genuine deductions and rejections since 2022,” it said.
The association has in a meeting decided that the contract with the SHA after completion of the three-year term w.e.f. 15-03-2025 is no longer tenable saying, “It won’t be possible for us to meet the expenses at these diminishing rates that too with delayed payments.”
The letter, signed by 52 hospital heads across J&K, stated, “The packages have not been revised, even after the Union Government increased the Ayushman Bharat scheme’s budget by 24% to Rs 9,406 crore.” It asks the government to increase the budget for PMJAY in Jammu and Kashmir.
It stated that if the authorities are serious about implementing the scheme in Jammu and Kashmir’s private sector, they must ensure proper support for private hospitals.
They demanded that HBP 2022 approved by the National Health Authority (NHA) of India in 2022 be implemented with special rate revision for dialysis patients.
“There should be no reservations of any procedure for private hospitals as right to health is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and patients shouldn’t be restricted to get treatment from public hospitals only under PMJAY,” it said.
The association also demands that the guidelines issued by the NHA be implemented by reimbursement of one percent interest.
“No unjustified deductions or rejections should be made, and rate fixation for deductions should be finalized in advance. Pending payments, including Bajaj payments, should be released with 1% interest. We request that the 10% UT-specific incentives continue,” it said.
The Private Hospitals Association stated that the success of the PMJAY scheme in Jammu and Kashmir is largely due to the participation of private hospitals and dialysis centers.
They said that subsidized treatment was already available in public hospitals before the scheme’s implementation and patients faced months-long waiting periods.
The association expressed hope for a positive response from the authorities, which they believe will help in ensuring the continued success of the scheme in Jammu and Kashmir.
