Ayushman Bharat was conceived as a promise – a solemn covenant between the state and its most vulnerable citizens that no one would be turned away from the door of healthcare for want of money. In Jammu and Kashmir, that promise is now haemorrhaging, and unless urgent intervention is made, it risks a complete collapse. The numbers are stark. Nearly Rs 275 crore in dues remain unpaid to 135 empanelled private hospitals across the Union Territory. Medical suppliers have begun cutting off inventories of implants and critical equipment. Dialysis patients, cardiac cases, and surgical emergencies – people who depend on this scheme as their only lifeline – stand at the precipice of being abandoned. This is not a bureaucratic inconvenience. This is a humanitarian emergency unfolding in slow motion.
Private hospitals empanelled under the Golden Card scheme are not charitable institutions. They are, by every functional definition, extended arms of the Government’s healthcare delivery system. They have absorbed the overflow from overburdened Government hospitals, performed complex surgeries, and administered periodic dialysis to patients who would otherwise spend their days running from pillar to post seeking treatment dates. They have done all of this – for over a year – without receiving timely reimbursements. Expecting them to continue doing so indefinitely is neither fair nor sustainable.
The Government must act on three fronts immediately. First, emergency release of minimum 50 percent of the outstanding Rs 275 crore must be sanctioned without further delay. Partial clearances of 1-2 percent are an insult to institutions staring at payroll failures and empty supply shelves. Second, a dedicated fast-track payment mechanism must be instituted so that reimbursement cycles never again stretch beyond 90 days. The current crisis is a creature of systemic neglect, not isolated misfortune. Third, the dispute between the State Health Agency and the insurance company must be resolved through structured arbitration, not prolonged litigation that bleeds hospitals while lawyers deliberate. The Government must also acknowledge that rising global supply costs – up 18-22 percent amid geopolitical pressures – have fundamentally altered the economics of running these facilities. Reimbursement rates must be reviewed accordingly.
The onus rests squarely with the Government. It launched this flagship scheme. It empanelled these hospitals. It encouraged thousands of families to depend on this ecosystem. To now suffocate that ecosystem with unpaid dues is a betrayal of the very purpose the scheme was built to serve.
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