Ghaziabad: Twenty-one private hospitals have been dropped from the Ayushman Bharat panel after being found to have failed govt-prescribed quality standards and allegedly indulged in irregularities that could have left beneficiaries denied cashless care or paying for treatment that should have been free.The action followed complaints and data analytics by the state anti-fraud unit. Officials said the hospitals fell short of 35 standards laid down by the Centre for empanelled facilities. RK Gupta, nodal officer for Ayushman Yojana in the city, said the probe found complaints of hospitals refusing admission to Ayushman card holders and demanding extra payments.“There were also cases where patients were shown as unnecessarily admitted. In some instances, patients visiting the OPD were shown as IPD admissions. Repeated admissions of the same patient were also detected,” he added.The hospitals that were removed included Maxwell Multispeciality Hospital, Yashoda Hospital Research Centre, Om Eye & Gynaecology Centre, Dev Eye Centre, Apex Multispeciality Hospital, Krishna Hospital & Trauma Centre, Vidyawati Dubey Hospital, SM Hospital, Uttam Hospital, Meenakshi Hospital, Shivam Hospital & HA Centre, Santosh Sudarshan Hospital, S Sanjeevani Hospital, Dental Park, Aaradhya Medi Life Centre, Sparsh Medicare & Trauma Centre, Nagar Hospital and St Joseph Hospital, among others.The district had 84 Ayushman-empanelled hospitals, but the number has now fallen to 63. Officials said the action was aimed at ensuring beneficiaries receive treatment without being denied admission or charged for covered services.The scheme requires empanelled hospitals to provide eligible patients treatment on a cashless basis for covered procedures. Officials said removing hospitals from the panel was necessary to protect beneficiaries from being denied care, made to pay extra or subjected to treatment practices that do not meet prescribed standards. The action also strengthens monitoring of hospitals under the scheme across the district.Sachin Chandra Vaishya, the CMO, urged cardholders to report any demand for extra payment to his office. “Every complaint will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken against those found violating the rules,” he said.
