Private hospitals in Rajasthan have demanded the release of pending dues under the state's flagship health insurance scheme, saying it would be difficult for them to operate if these are not cleared.
They said the government is yet to clear around Rs 300 crore under the Bhamashah Swasthya Bima Yojna (BSBY), which ensures free treatment to BPL families at private hospitals.
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Claims under the scheme are settled by a partner insurance company.
The association representing the hospitals has also initiated a social media campaign for the recovery of dues.
Reacting to the issue, the state authorities said the private hospitals are pressuring the government at a time when they are busy dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.
The association said about 600 hospitals are on the verge of closure and over 50,000 employees will face unemployment if the government did not release the dues.
The issue surfaced after state Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma said recently in a statement that the scheme is functioning in a robust manner.
The association representatives said due to the non-payment of dues several hospitals are not able to pay salaries to their employees.
About Rs 300 crore has not been paid to private hospitals under the BSBY for the past several months. We have written to the authorities to clear the dues, failing which hospitals will face operational crisis during the fight against coronavirus, Vishesh Vyas, vice-president of the Rajasthan Private Hospitals Association told PTI.
He said over one lakh appeals in claim settlement disputes filed by private hospitals against insurance companies are yet to be disposed of.
Vyas said the rules against private hospitals are strict whereas the authorities are lenient on the partner insurance company.
A Jodhpur-based private hospital owner said their payment is pending since November last year.
How will we pay salary to our staff under the crisis. We are working with zeal in the fight against coronavirus but the government should understand the issue, the owner said.
Meanwhile, the authorities said the private hospitals are pressuring government when it is hard pressed in the fighting with a pandemic.
They are mounting pressure on the government. The claims will be settled soon as our teams are mostly busy in dealing with COVID-19 right now, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rohit Kumar Singh said.
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