The Himachal Pradesh government has no plans to shut down the HIMCARE healthcare scheme, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri announced on Thursday, countering claims made by the opposition. Agnihotri emphasized that while the scheme will continue, existing loopholes must be addressed.
Agnihotri made these remarks during the first meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee, which was formed to investigate issues within the HIMCARE scheme and the centrally funded Ayushman Bharat Yojana.
The sub-committee includes Health Minister Dr. (Col) Dhani Ram Shandil, Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, and Youth Services and Sports Minister Yadvinder Goma.
Recent government decisions, including the exclusion of government employees and pensioners and changes to the empanelment of private hospitals, have raised concerns.
These changes followed Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on private hospitals in Himachal Pradesh to investigate alleged fraud in the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
Agnihotri acknowledged the opposition's outcry over the potential closure of HIMCARE but highlighted the scheme's flaws, particularly in claim reimbursements. He noted discrepancies between medical bills and treatment costs, with claims often being inflated.
The committee aims to implement reforms to prevent such discrepancies and ensure transparency.
The Deputy Chief Minister also revealed that the state faces a liability of Rs 457 crore under the scheme, with Rs 150 crore owed to private hospitals and Rs 307 crore to government hospitals.
He pointed out that only 5.32 lakh families are currently covered under Ayushman Bharat, leaving 14.83 lakh families outside its scope.
The committee has decided to approach Union Health Minister JP Nadda to seek the removal of these restrictions and to secure funding that could help include the remaining families in the scheme.
Agnihotri stressed that the state government has been receiving only Rs 50 crore annually from the Centre under Ayushman Bharat, which has already been exhausted within the first six months.
The state anticipates that costs could exceed Rs 100 crore by the end of the fiscal year.
In addition to committee members, the meeting was attended by Secretary of Health M. Sudha Devi, Director of Health Gopal Beri, Director of Medical Education Rakesh Sharma, and Deputy Director Devinder Kumar.
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