Hyderabad: Pending bills raise doubts over Aarogyasri survival

Hyderabad: Is the state government serious about continuing the Aarogyasri scheme? The question is pertinent as pending dues from June 2018 to May 2019 total close to Rs 1,000 crore.

The Telangana Small Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (Thana) recently had a meeting to assess whether they can continue participating in the scheme as the mounting dues are making it difficult for them to survive.

Dr V. Rakesh, senior member of Thana, explained, “Every small hospital is finding that patients are coming with Aarogyasri cards or employee health scheme cards and there are hardly any patients who are paying cash. Insurance patients in rural areas are close to nil due to these schemes. While in the city and outskirts there are different types of patients, in rural and semi-rural areas there are only scheme patients. This is making it difficult for hospitals to survive as there is hardly any cash circulating in the market. The government is not clearing its debts in time. There is no chief executive officer to discuss issues and make reimbursement a regular practice.”

With 240 small hospitals and 201 super speciality hospitals in the state, government health schemes are making it difficult for private hospitals to survive. Delays in payments and unnecessary deductions have made it difficult for the small players who are now not willing to continue in the scheme.

A senior doctor said on condition of anonymity, “From 2018 till mid-June 2019, we are witnessing only elections. For this reason, the government officers are not willing to listen to us. But the treatments have not stopped. They are approving the treatments on their website. When they can do that, why are they stopping the payments?

Is the government really serious about the scheme or are they having second thoughts? It is high time they look into the plight of those who are providing care and treatment.”

Private hospitals are finding themselves in a spot because they have already provided treatment and cannot discontinue it in the middle. The part payment which was made in April and May, 2018 is not even 25 per cent of the total dues. Hospital administrations have held several meetings to find out a way to get the money the government owes them and are questioning whether it is advisable to continue providing free treatment under the scheme.

Senior Aarogyasri officials say that due to the model code of conduct, only small amounts are being cleared. Another excuse is that scrutiny of hospital bills is a time-consuming process. Till the bills are properly scrutinised, they are not forwarded to the revenue department for payment. But this is surely something the government was aware of when it started the scheme.