Bihar hospitals await Ayushman dues for months, financial strain mounts

Patna: Hospitals empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Bihar have been awaiting reimbursement for more than four months, triggering financial stress for several private and charitable institutions providing cashless treatment to poor patients.

Under the scheme’s norms, bills submitted by hospitals are supposed to be cleared within 15 days if no query is raised. However, hospital administrators alleged that payments running into crores of rupees have remained pending since January, severely affecting routine operations.

Several hospitals said delayed reimbursements were making it difficult to manage staff salaries, medicines, equipment purchases and other operational expenses.

Mahavir Cancer Hospital director Dr Biswajit Sanayal said the hospital had pending dues of more than Rs 20 crore, although some payments were recently released.

Mahavir Vatsalya Aspatal, another hospital run by Mahavir Mandir Nayas Samiti and dedicated to child healthcare, is also facing the issue. Its director Dr Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said claims dating back to January, amounting to nearly Rs 4 crore, were still pending.

“Ayushman Bharat is govt’s flagship health insurance scheme, which enables eligible beneficiaries to receive cashless treatment at empanelled hospitals and is a great help to the economically weaker section. Strengthening such schemes and timely payment will definitely help in treatment of the poor,” Rajeev said.

Several private hospitals in Patna also alleged prolonged delays in bill clearance, though many declined to be named.

Ruban Hospital claimed its dues of around Rs 3 crore had remained pending for nearly five months. Public relations officer Amit Kumar said the hospital was yet to receive the payment.

Buddha Cancer Centre also said bills worth nearly Rs 3 crore linked to around 1,100 cases were awaiting clearance. “Our bills related to 1,100 cases are pending, some of which are waiting clearance since January,” said director Dr Ridu Kumar Sharma.

Shashank Shekhar Sinha, special secretary in the health department and chief executive officer of Ayushman Bharat in Bihar, admitted there had been delays in bill clearance since March and said the process would resume within the next few days.

Bihar has 1,298 hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat, including 434 govt and 864 private hospitals.