India Today TV Impact: Centre removes 97 hospitals from govt panel over fraud claims
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan said that nearly 1,200 cases of fraud have been confirmed and action has been taken against 338 hospitals, out of which 97 hospitals have been de-empanelled from the scheme while FIRs have been lodged against six hospitals.
After India Today TV’s SIT investigation exposed the chinks in the Ayushmaan Bharat scheme, the Centre has removed 97 hospitals from government panel for indulging in fraudulent activities.
India Today TV investigation revealed how patients, who were beneficiaries of the PM’s Ayushmaan Bharat scheme, were being denied treatment by certain hospitals.
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday said that nearly 1,200 cases of fraud have been confirmed and action has been taken against 338 hospitals.
Giving out figures, Harsh Vardhan said 376 hospitals currently are under investigation while the National Health Authority, the apex body responsible for the implementation of the centrally-sponsored scheme, has taken action in terms of issuing showcause notice, suspending, levying penalty and de-empanelling against 338 hospitals.
The Union minister said 97 hospitals have been de-empanelled from the scheme while FIRs have been lodged against six hospitals. A total amount of Rs 1.5 crore in penalty has been levied and nearly 1,200 cases of fraud have been confirmed.
Asserting that the government has zero-tolerance towards corruption, Harsh Vardhan said that names of hospitals found involved in any kind of fraudulent practices in the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme will be put up on its official website to "name and shame" them.
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INDIA TODAY TV INVESTIGATION
The chinks in the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme were revealed in an India Today TV investigation.
So far, around 17,000 hospitals have been empanelled for the programme. But, the probe discovered some of them shying away from treating the patients entitled to Ayushman Bharat scheme.
During the investigation, India Today TV reporters posed as attendants of a poor typhoid patient and visited Golden Hospital in Haryana's Palwal district. The hospital refused to treat the patient despite being listed on Ayushman Bharat scheme's panel as reflected on the project's online portal.
Dr Anshuman Das, Golden Hospital's medical head, claimed that typhoid was not covered under Ayushman Bharat scheme.
WHAT IS COVERED UNDER AYUSHMAN BHARAT SCHEME
The website of Ayushman Bharat is a one-stop source for all information linked to the programme - from the comprehensive list of empanelled hospitals in every state to conditions they cover.
Against their names, the designated facilities have specific codes assigned for treatments they are required to offer to the beneficiaries.
Down below, the codes are explained for specialities covered - M1 for general medicine and M6 for radiation oncology, for instance.
Another webpage on the portal takes us to a wider list of specialities. When clicked, a Microsoft Excel document opens up, showing conditions and diseases assured under the programme.
INDIANS WANT FREEBIES: DOCTOR
When India Today's team looked up the portal, the search revealed that the Golden Hospital is required to treat enteric fever, a medical term for typhoid, under Ayushman Bharat packages.
But its medical head scorned the scheme as a wasteful freebie.
"The biggest problem our country faces is that people even queue up for poison if it's supplied for free. Would your maid not get treated had there been no Ayushman Bharat?" the doctor argued.
India Today TV team faced similar rejects from a government hospital in Palwal, Rana Hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr and Ghaziabad's Shivam Hospital and Heart Centre. All the hospitals were empanelled to treat the diseases India Today TV sought medical care for. But they were denied treatment.
INDIA TODAY TV'S CALL FOR ACTION
After the investigation, India Today TV team contacted Ayushman Bharat CEO, Dr Indu Bhushan who assured action and encouraged patients to file complaints at toll-free number 14555.
Talking about the action against fraud hospitals on Tuesday, Indu Bhushan said, "We are taking stern action against such fraudsters and have filed criminal cases and FIRs in some cases. In fact, we have suggested such hospitals should not only be de-empanelled from the PMJAY scheme but also from other schemes including that of CGHS and ECHA."
According to the government data, over 39 lakh people have availed cashless treatment worth over Rs 6,100 crore for serious illnesses since the launch of AB-PMJAY. This has resulted in savings of Rs 12,000 crore to the beneficiary families, the government says.
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