Patiala: Not paid salary for 2 months, Arogya Mitras stay off work

Tribune News Service

Karam Prakash

Patiala, August 9

Beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana are facing a double whammy as private hospitals have closed their doors to them and now, Arogya Mitras have stopped assisting them. As many as 150 Arogya Mitras, deployed at government hospitals to assist the beneficiaries, have processing Ayushman cards because they have not been paid salaries for the past two months.

As a result of their protest, the Ayushman Bharat Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana has come to a standstill in all government hospitals of the district. The scheme provides a cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh to the cardholders.

Many patients admitted to hospitals under the scheme are not able to continue their treatment. Those, who are to be discharged, are left in the lurch as they need a clearance from Arogya Mitras.

Bhupinder Singh, a kin of patient Charanjeet Kaur from Mansa, said, “Our patient is admitted to Government Rajindra Hospital here and is serious. We need to get the treatment started. However, the Arogya Mitra has refused to process the card. We cannot afford expensive lab tests.”

The private hospitals empanelled under the scheme had stopped admitting beneficiaries under the health scheme after the government failed to clear their dues.

The Arogya Mitras, who have not been paid their salaries since June, stopped processing the Ayushman cards today. They claimed the outsourcing agency, MD India, had not received funds from the State Health Agency, the nodal agency for the implementation of the scheme in the state.

An Arogya Mitra said, “We had no other option but to stay off work since we are without salaries. The government should immediately intervene and release payment to MD India.”

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