Will patients from other states offset Bangla loss? Hosps hopeful

Kolkata: Hospitals in the city prepared for a possible rise in patient count from neighbouring states after the push from Swasthya Bhavan to get on to the Ayushman Bharat panel, hoping the inflow would compensate for a sharp fall in Bangladeshi patients since the 2024 uprising.Ruby General Hospital received 152 Bangladeshi patients last month, down from an average of 300 until two years ago, with most of them OPD patients. "We receive 150 Ayushman Bharat patients a month. Now that the scheme has opened up in Bengal, we hope to receive more patients from states like Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha which have a significant population with Ayushman cards. More importantly, all Ayushman patients are admitted and the rates are marginally higher than Swasthya Sathi. While we have been on the Ayushman panel for several years, with more hospitals now joining in, the number of patients from the region should rise. This could help to compensate for the reduction in Bangladesh patients," said Ruby General chief operations manager Subhashis Datta.At Charnock Hospital, some Bangladesh patients still trickle in, but the numbers are far lower, according to Charnock MD Prashant Sharma. "And my guess is this will take a long time to revive. In this scenario, the launch of a national scheme will help to boost the number of patients across Kolkata hospitals," said Sharma.The implementation of Ayushman Bharat in Bengal marked a step towards strengthening Kolkata's position as a healthcare destination for east and northeast India, said Ayanabh Debgupta, regional director (east), Manipal Hospitals. "Patients from neighbouring Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam and the Northeast have long travelled to Kolkata for advanced tertiary and quaternary care. At Manipal Hospitals, we have treated nearly 20,000 patients from the Northeast and other neighbouring states over the past 18 months. With Bengal now becoming part of the PM-JAY framework, the portability of benefits and availability of cashless treatment are expected to further improve access to quality healthcare," said Debgupta.At RN Tagore Hospital (RTIICS), the number of Bangladeshi patients dipped by 75% between 2024 and 2025. "Ayushman Bharat in Bengal can further strengthen Kolkata's position as a key healthcare hub for eastern and northeastern India by improving affordability and access for needy patients from neighbouring states. While there was some impact from reduced patient inflow from Bangladesh initially, we have already compensated for this through strong growth in domestic patients," said Narayana Hospitals COO R Venkatesh.Ayushman Bharat had the potential to improve access to quality healthcare for patients from neighbouring states where the scheme was already well-established, according to Sajal Dutta, chairman and MD, Desun Hospital. "We receive a steady stream of patients from states like Bihar and Jharkhand under Ayushman Bharat, and we expect greater patient movement across eastern India once the operational integration of Ayushman Bharat becomes smoother in Bengal. While hospitals in eastern India have certainly felt the impact of the decline in patients from Bangladesh, domestic healthcare schemes can help broaden the patient base and partially offset that gap over time."