Arogyasri Network Hospitals Association Vaddiraju Rakesh announced that Arogyasri services will be suspended in the state from Tuesday midnight. He revealed that this tough decision had to be taken due to the accumulation of dues from the government. He alleged that the government has not paid Arogyasri’s bills for the past year and EHS for the past 18 months.
He made it clear that the management of the hospitals has become a huge burden due to the accumulated dues and that the services cannot be continued in these circumstances.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy expressed his anger over their decision, saying that making such threats on an issue related to the lives of the people of the state is unacceptable. He said that since the formation of his government, funds of Rs. 75 crore have been released regularly every month.
However, he criticized that it is not the right method for hospitals to resort to threats every time in the name of funds. The CM said that it has become a habit for the management of private hospitals to issue such bandh warnings every month. He made it clear that he would not yield to such pressure any longer and that the government would not hesitate to take tough decisions to protect the health of the people.
Arogyasri CEO Uday Kumar said that these services should not be stopped under any circumstances to protect the health of the people of the state and that the hospital management needs to act with social responsibility. He warned that it is not right for hospitals to put pressure on patients as this scheme is a livelihood for the poor.
He clarified that since the Congress government was formed, Rs. 1,779 crore has been paid to private hospitals so far. He reminded that in the past, from 2014 to November 2023, an average of only Rs. 57 crore per month was paid. In fact, the hospital management wrote a letter to the government on the 21st of last month stating that they would stop services from September 1st.
Following this, the government held talks with them on 30th August. After the hospitals were assured of releasing some amount in a day or two, they temporarily postponed their decision. However, private hospital managements say that they will have to suspend services after 15 days without receiving a response from the government.