Andhra Private Hospitals Threaten To Halt Non-Emergency Care Over Dues

Vijayawada: Several private hospitals associated with the NTR Vaidya Seva Network have warned to stop healthcare services except for emergency care to patients under the scheme from August 15 in the state with an appeal to the state government to clear their dues.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Andhra Pradesh Specialty Hospitals Association expressed concern over the financial crisis the hospitals are facing and have claimed that they don’t have money even to purchase a piece of cotton and a needle as all means of raising money in the form of getting loans and availing overdraft facility in the banks have been exhausted.

They maintained that though they intend to provide healthcare services without causing trouble either to patients or to the government, they are unable to do so given the fact that they find no sources of income unless the state government clears their dues pending for several months.

The doctors said until September, 2023 they received all their dues for providing healthcare to patients under the scheme from the state government and added that by May, 2024, their dues have gone up to Rs 1,750 crore. They said when they raised the issue with then government, they were assured of giving some relief but in vain.

The doctors said as the state government was supposed to pay them around Rs 2,500 crore, the new government cleared Rs 160 cr recently.

They stated that despite their commitment to serve patients under the scheme even though they were not getting their bills cleared, they were being subjected to trouble by being targeted on one pretext or another.

The doctors appealed to the state government to clear their dues and evolve a system to clear the dues on a regular basis to help uninterrupted healthcare services to patients in the state.