Telangana healthcare schemes face crisis as Rs 2,000 cr dues remain pending

With over Rs 2,000 crore in medical bills remaining pending for the past 15 months, Telangana’s healthcare sector is staring at an unprecedented financial crisis. The crisis is also threatening to bring the state’s ambitious revamped Employee Health Scheme (EHS) and the Aarogyasri health safety net to a grinding halt.

Despite the state government starting mandatory deductions of 1.5 percent from the basic pay of state employees and pensioners to fund the Employee Health Care Trust (EHCT), the scheme remains largely non-operational, as 70 percent to 80 percent of the small and



medium-sized private hospitals, mostly concentrated in districts, are yet to join the initiative.

The core of the unrest lies in the State government’s inability to offer sustainable rates for various medical procedures and treatments to private hospitals and the massive multi-crore financial backlog.

According to Telangana Aarogyasri Network Hospitals Association (TANHA) president Dr. Vaddiraju Rakesh, private hospitals are grappling with pending Aarogyasri medical bills scaling upwards of Rs 2,000 crore accumulated over nearly 15 months, alongside old EHS dues.