Chandigarh, Mar 9 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday termed “completely baseless” the opposition’s allegations about irregularities in payments under the Ayushman Bharat scheme and that private hospitals have stopped providing treatment.
Saini was responding to a Calling Attention motion brought by the opposition Congress regarding the Ayushman Bharat scheme in the Haryana Assembly.
Congress MLA B B Batra claimed that private hospitals are not entertaining patients over pending claims.
He also alleged that the Ayushman Bharat card was not being accepted by the hospitals for certain procedures.
Saini said the allegations of irregularities in payments under the Ayushman Bharat scheme and claims that private hospitals have stopped treatment are “completely baseless”, factually incorrect and far from the truth.
Under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, eligible families are provided health insurance coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per year.
A total of 2,694 treatment packages are included under the scheme, Saini said.
He said the Chirayu Yojana was launched on November 21, 2022, through which the benefits of Ayushman Bharat were extended to the ‘Antyodaya’ families with an annual income of up to Rs 1.80 lakh. Under this scheme too, health coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family is provided, and the entire cost is borne by the state government.
In 2023-24, the scope of the Ayushman Bharat Chirayu scheme was further expanded to include families with an annual income between Rs 1.80 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, he said.
A strong grievance redressal mechanism has been established under the scheme. Complaints can be registered 24 hours a day on the National Health Authority’s helpline number, he added.
As of January 22, 2026, Saini said, a total of 784 private hospitals in Haryana are empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Up to February 21 alone, 33,911 pre-authorisation requests were received from private hospitals.
He said that if hospitals had actually stopped treatment, such a large number of pre-authorisation requests would not have been possible.
Similarly, during the financial year 2025-26, empanelled private hospitals submitted a total of 5,91,863 claims.
The chief minister said 700 doctors were available under the previous Congress government and today the number has increased to 3,200.
He said attempts are also being made to spread misconceptions regarding payments.
During the financial year 2024-25, private hospitals submitted claims worth Rs 1,236 crore, out of which nearly Rs 1,100 crore has already been paid, reflecting about 89 per cent claim settlement.
He further stated that in the past three months, approximately Rs 250 crore has been released to the empanelled hospitals.
Under the Ayushman Chirayu Yojana, 27,42,306 people have availed treatment with claims amounting to Rs 3,862.36 crore already paid, Saini said.
In the past five months, he said, no beneficiary has lodged any complaint about being refused treatment by a hospital due to non-payment of claims.
When beneficiaries are not facing problems, it is difficult to understand where the opposition sees a health emergency, the chief minister said.
Health Minister Arti Singh Rao said the eligible beneficiaries in Haryana are receiving cashless treatment without any interruption in empanelled private hospitals, which is supported by available empirical data.
She informed the assembly that claims from both public and private hospitals are being processed transparently through the TMS portal of the National Health Authority using a prescribed online system. PTI SUN DIV DIV
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