Gurgaon: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Haryana on Monday announced the withdrawal of its 19-day suspension of Ayushman Bharat services after a high-level meeting with the state govt, where officials agreed to a series of corrective measures to address payment delays and operational glitches.
Around 650 private empanelled hospitals in the state will resume Ayushman Bharat services from 12am on Aug 26, said Dr Mahaveer P Jain, president of IMA Haryana.
The decision followed a meeting by chief secretary Anurag Rastogi in Chandigarh, attended by additional chief secretary (health) Sudhir Rajpal, senior officials from Ayushman Bharat Haryana Health Protection Authority (AB-HHPA), and representatives of IMA Haryana.
During the meeting, IMA members flagged long-pending issues, including delayed claim settlements, arbitrary deductions, and systemic hurdles that they said made it nearly impossible for private hospitals to continue offering services under the scheme.
Officials assured the association that all pending claims would be cleared within 30 days, with a streamlined mechanism to ensure timely payments in the future.
Several other action points including requests related to package rate revisions, CAPF payments, and “green channel” payment implementation will be escalated to the Centre for approvals, officials said.
“The authority will examine the provision of interest on delayed payments under the MoU, in consultation with the finance department. Processing of over 400 corrected cases, priority review of NABH incentive applications, a dedicated hospital helpline, and area-wise training sessions for smoother claim filing and processing will continue,” they said.
“Deputy commissioners across districts have been directed to handle grievance cases more vigilantly and hold meetings regularly. Show-cause or suspension notices issued solely for the non-entertainment of patients during the strike period from Aug 7 to Aug 25 will be withdrawn once the suspension is formally called off. The State Anti-Fraud Unit (SAFU) will expedite pending case reviews and share details of fraudulent activities with hospitals before any de-empanelment action,” they added.
The govt has also committed to reviewing progress on these action points every 15 days. The next review meeting under the chief secretary’s chairmanship has been scheduled for Oct 15.
IMA officials said the decision to restore services was taken in the interest of patients while trusting the govt’s assurances. “We will follow up on each point as per the minutes of the meeting,” Dr Jain said.
The association launched the protest on Aug 7, citing delays in claim settlements, arbitrary deductions, and procedural bottlenecks under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The suspension of services caused disruptions for thousands of patients across Haryana seeking treatment under the govt’s flagship health insurance programme.
Launched in 2018, Ayushman Bharat allows low-income families to avail medical treatments – anything from routine diagnostic tests to surgeries — up to Rs 5 lakh a year. Families with annual income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh, elderly people and other vulnerable groups are eligible to get registered under the scheme.
