‘Hospital was non-empanelled’: Minister as opposition questions Punjab health scheme

Chandigarh: Opposition parties in Punjab on Sunday questioned the implementation of the state government's Rs 10-lakh health insurance scheme after a video surfaced showing a family alleging that the card was not accepted during treatment of a relative.Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh, however, rejected the criticism, saying the hospital referred to in the video was a "non-empanelled private hospital" and that private hospitals could not be compelled to join the scheme.Sharing the purported video on X, leader of the opposition Partap Singh Bajwa wrote: "Another mask falls off as the @BhagwantMann's Sehat Bima Yojana turns out to be as much a farce as the other so-called ‘krantis' of @AAPPunjab."Replying to him, Dr Balbir Singh posted: "Punjabis expect their leader of opposition to act responsibly. It's basic prudence that one should check facts before presenting WhatsApp forwards as truth. The patient is referring to a ‘non-empanelled' private hospital. In your mind, private hospitals should be compelled to sign up? That's not right, nor practical. At the national level, it's well accepted that empanelment of private hospitals is ‘voluntary'."The health minister further wrote: "Last time, you stood up in Vidhan Sabha and claimed there are zero mohalla clinics in your home district, and I read out a list of them to you, including your own constituency! It seems you still haven't accepted my advice of actually going amongst the people on the ground level to see reality. It's not visible from your ivory towers."The political row widened through the day, with Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia also attacking the government over the scheme's implementation.Warring posted on X: "Another @AAPPunjab much-advertised scheme bites the dust! The ground realities are much different, but the AAP leadership continues to lie to the people of Punjab, but mind you, Punjab doesn't forgive liars."In a written statement, Sharma said Punjab's much-publicised "health revolution" stood exposed and alleged that despite holding a valid health insurance card, a family received no financial relief during a medical emergency.Majithia, too, questioned the functioning of the scheme, alleging it had failed to deliver benefits on the ground. Referring to the video, reportedly from Amritsar, he claimed attendants of patients were seen moving from one place to another in search of treatment, reflecting a gap between the scheme's claims and its implementation.The ruling AAP government, however, maintained that the scheme remained operational and that criticism based on isolated instances, particularly involving non-empanelled hospitals, was misleading.