The stalled payment to hospitals under Ayushman Bharat scheme has started again in Uttar Pradesh. After the technical problem was resolved, Yogi government released Rs 100 crore on 23 May. Now the remaining amount will also be given to the hospitals soon.
Lucknow. The Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh is continuously working towards making the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (ABPMJAY) more transparent, effective and convenient for the patients. The government’s aim is to provide timely and better health services to Ayushman card holders. Since the beginning of the scheme, more than 50 lakh patients in the state have received treatment in hospitals more than 91 lakh times. In lieu of this, more than Rs 15 thousand crore has been paid to the empaneled hospitals by the government.
Payment to hospitals stopped due to technical problem, now the process has started again
Sachij (SHA) Chief Executive Officer Archana Verma said that between May 14 and May 22, there was a technical glitch in the exchange of payment files between the National Health Authority (NHA) and the concerned banks. Due to this, payment of about Rs 633 crore was put on hold. Due to halt in the payment process, there was a delay in getting the claim amount to the government and private empaneled hospitals, even though most of the claims had already been approved. There was an atmosphere of concern in the hospitals due to technical hurdles, but the state government took the matter seriously and immediately started the process of resolution.
Rs 100 crore released to hospitals on May 23
The Medical Health and Family Welfare Department resolved the technical problem by continuously coordinating with NHA and the concerned banks. According to officials, the problem in the banking system on May 22 was successfully fixed. After this, a payment of Rs 100 crore was released to the hospitals on 23 May. At the same time, the remaining amount of about Rs 500 crore is also ready to be released to the concerned hospitals in the next one or two days.
The payment process has been expedited so that the treatment of patients is not affected.
Sachij CEO Archana Verma said that after the technical problem was completely resolved, the payment process has now been started normally. He said that payments are being sent to the hospitals in a phased manner so that there is no impact on the treatment and health services of the patients.
Emphasis on providing better health services to rural areas
The Yogi government is continuously adding new hospitals to the Ayushman Bharat scheme, so that people in rural and remote areas can also get better medical facilities. Apart from this, Golden Card distribution campaign, e-KYC, help desk and digital monitoring system are also being strengthened, so that the beneficiaries can get more convenient services.
Instructions given to avoid technical problems in future
Additional Chief Secretary, Medical Health and Family Welfare Department, Amit Ghosh, while reviewing the progress of the scheme, has given clear instructions to the officials that there should not be unnecessary delay in payment to hospitals. He also stressed on strengthening the technical system, so that such problems do not recur in future and patients continue to get uninterrupted health services.