The District Grievance Redressal Committee for Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), under the chairmanship of District Magistrate Sachin Kumar Vaishya, has slapped fines on two hospitals in Jammu for denying treatment to patients under the government’s flagship health insurance scheme.
The committee found Bee General Hospital on Canal Road and Government Super Specialty Hospital in Jammu guilty of refusing to provide treatment covered under PM-JAY guidelines. As per the recommendations made to the State Health Agency (SHA), the two hospitals will face a combined minimum penalty of Rs 1,22,711.
Bee General Hospital denied a patient neurosurgery treatment, while Super Specialty Hospital refused to provide a crucial drug-coated balloon procedure during a cardiac surgery case, both of which are covered benefits under the PM-JAY scheme. “Denying treatment to eligible beneficiaries goes against the core principles of the Ayushman Bharat program,” said District Magistrate Vaishya. “We take such violations very seriously and cannot allow PM-JAY patients to be turned away by empaneled hospitals.” In addition to the fines, the committee discussed other grievances related to PM-JAY implementation and took steps to address and resolve them. The meeting was attended by Chief Medical Officer Dr. Harbaksh Singh, Assistant Commissioner Development Dr. Vikas Sharma, District Grievance Nodal Officer Alok Chatta, and other officials. Launched in 2018, PM-JAY provides annual healthcare benefits of up to Rs 5 lakh per family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization through a network of public and private empaneled hospitals across India. However, there have been reports of some hospitals denying treatment or making beneficiaries bear additional costs. The District Grievance Redressal Committee aims to ensure PM-JAY beneficiaries can access quality healthcare services at zero cost as intended by the program.
