Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh-
Haryana Health Minister Arti Singh Rao stated that under the “Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)”, no complaint has been received in the last five months regarding any beneficiary being denied treatment due to pending payments to hospitals.
The Health Minister was replying to a Calling Attention Motion related to Ayushman Bharat during the Budget Session of the Haryana Legislative Assembly.
Arti Singh Rao said that the statement mentioned in the notice regarding the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme in the state is factually incorrect and is categorically rejected. All eligible beneficiaries in Haryana are continuously receiving cashless treatment without any interruption in empanelled private hospitals, which is supported by available empirical data.
She informed that claims from both public and private hospitals are being processed transparently through the TMS portal of the National Health Authority (NHA) using a prescribed online system.
The Minister stated that the Ayushman Bharat scheme was launched on September 23, 2018, and it is the world’s largest government-funded health insurance scheme. Under the scheme, families identified on the basis of the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 are provided health coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalization. The scheme includes 2,694 treatment packages. In Haryana, the scheme has also been extended to Antyodaya families.
She added that Ayushman Bharat is among the largest healthcare initiatives in the world, launched under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister has consistently emphasized that quality healthcare should not be a privilege for a few but a right for every citizen. The scheme was designed to ensure affordable and dignified healthcare for economically weaker families.
Under the scheme, eligible families are provided healthcare coverage up to ₹5 lakh. Due to this historic initiative, lakhs of families across the country, including thousands in Haryana, have received free and cashless treatment.
Arti Singh Rao further stated that on November 21, 2022, the CHIRAYU Scheme was launched by the Chief Minister of Haryana. Under this scheme, Antyodaya families with an annual income of up to ₹1.80 lakh are provided health coverage of up to ₹5 lakh, similar to Ayushman Bharat. This scheme is fully funded by the state government.
She added that according to the Chief Minister’s Budget Speech for the financial year 2023-24, the Ayushman Bharat-CHIRAYU scheme was extended to verified families with an annual income between ₹1.80 lakh and ₹3.00 lakh. Such families can avail the benefits of the scheme by paying a nominal contribution of ₹1,500 per family per year.
Last year, in 2024-25, the Chief Minister also announced that all citizens above 70 years of age would be covered under the scheme without any income limit, and more than 2 lakh cards have already been issued under this provision.
The Health Minister said that the entire process—from beneficiary identification and registration to claim submission, document verification, claim approval, and payment to hospitals—is carried out through the online portal of the National Health Authority.
She informed that beneficiaries can lodge complaints related to the scheme through the National Health Authority’s 24×7 call centre (14555), the state-level 24×7 call centres (1800-180-2026 and 1800-180-2415), and online grievance platforms such as CPGRAMS, CGRMS, CM Window, Jan Samvad, and SMGT. Through these channels, beneficiaries can report denial of treatment or any other issues.
Responding to questions raised regarding the data under the scheme, the Minister said that the figures have been obtained from the online portal of the National Health Authority, as all activities of the scheme are conducted through this portal.
She stated that as of January 22, 2026, a total of 784 private hospitals in Haryana are empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat scheme and are actively providing treatment to eligible beneficiaries. Clarifying allegations of denial of treatment, she said that during February 2026 (up to February 21, 2026), 33,911 pre-authorization requests were received from private hospitals, with a daily average of about 1,615. During the financial year 2025-26, private hospitals submitted 5,91,863 claims, with a daily average of around 1,804 claims. In January and February 2026, a total of 82,563 claims were submitted, with a daily average of about 1,588 claims.
She said that these figures clearly show that the scheme is continuously being utilized and the allegations of denial of treatment are factually incorrect. Arti Singh Rao further stated that in financial year 2024-25, private hospitals submitted claims worth ₹1,236 crore, out of which ₹1,100 crore was paid, meaning about 89% of the total claim amount was settled. If the same ratio is applied to the claims submitted in the current financial year (2025-26), the payable amount would be around ₹1,128 crore, of which ₹918 crore has already been paid. Around ₹200 crore remains pending at different stages of verification within the prescribed timeline.
She added that between December 2025 and February 22, 2026, an amount of ₹250 crore has been released to empanelled hospitals, and the payment process is continuing regularly. No claims from before 2025 are pending on the portal, provided there are no discrepancies in the claim documents. She said that ₹280 crore has been paid to hospitals in the last three months, and around ₹950 crore has already been paid in the current year.
Currently, 1.40 crore Ayushman Bharat cards are active in Haryana, and about 32.5 lakh people have received treatment under the scheme. So far, approximately ₹2,800 crore has been paid for their treatment.
Responding to allegations made by opposition members, the Health Minister said that beneficiaries from poor and middle-class families are continuously receiving treatment in both government and private hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Therefore, the allegation that a health emergency-like situation exists in the state is baseless and factually incorrect.