3 min readNew DelhiMay 31, 2025 07:39 AM IST
First published on: May 31, 2025 at 04:05 AM IST
All the “big hospitals” of Delhi will now be brought under the Ayushman Bharat insurance umbrella in the next “20-25 days”, Health Minister Pankaj Singh told The Indian Express as the Rekha Gupta-led BJP government in the Capital completed 100 days in power Friday.
Singh’s remarks are significant because major private hospital groups in Delhi, such as Max, Fortis and Apollo, have not yet come on board the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) — the scheme’s dashboard currently includes 82 other private hospitals, apart from 11 government facilities.
According to Singh, private hospitals in Delhi were hesitant to sign up because the previous AAP government did not clear pending payments under other schemes. “They did not make the payment on time from Delhi Arogya Nidhi (the financial assistance scheme run by the Directorate General of Health Services). Now I ensure that in the next 20-25 days, all the big hospitals will be empanelled under Ayushman Bharat. I will talk to them soon,” the Health Minister said.
Under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, patients from poor households get health insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh, and Rs 5 lakh for patients above the age of 70. While Centre offers a cover of Rs 5 lakh, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had said after her Cabinet’s first meeting that the Delhi government would provide an additional top-up of Rs 5 lakh to beneficiaries.
Records show that more than 3.16 lakh beneficiaries have been registered so far from poor households, and 30,000 above the age of 70. Beneficiaries for the scheme are selected on the basis of National Food Security Act (NFSA) data, and Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011. So far, 601 beneficiaries have availed services under the scheme, Singh said.
Healthcare representatives in Delhi, however, have called for a “reality check” before the scheme is expanded. Currently, of 62 private hospitals under Ayushman Bharat for which details are publicly available, nine are eyecare facilities while others offer services related to general medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, and cardiology.
Representing the Association of Healthcare Providers India (APHI), Dr Vipender Sabherwal, convenor for Ayushman Bharat, said, “We have been in touch with the Union Health Ministry and government officials on pricing and rates, which do not match the requirements of good hospitals with all facilities. The amount being offered is meagre and not practical. Even our payments were not made on time under Ayushman Bharat.”
Sabherwal said doctors’ associations would get in touch with the Delhi government for further discussions. AHPI represents about 15,000 private hospitals, including Fortis, Max Healthcare, Manipal, Medanta, Narayana and Apollo.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government is expected to launch 33 Jan Arogya Mandirs in place of AAP’s mohalla clinics and government dispensaries on Saturday under the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission scheme (PM-ABHIM).
Health Minister Singh had earlier said the government would open 200 such centres. Each Arogya Mandir is expected to provide 12 service packages, including maternal and child healthcare, vaccinations, mental health services, elderly care, and treatment for communicable diseases.
Each facility is mandated to maintain an essential drug list of 256 medicines, with in-house tests for blood sugar, haemoglobin, blood group, urine and pregnancy, among others — 90 other tests will be outsourced to Agilus Lab.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta flags off a Forensic Science Laboratory vehicle in New Delhi on Friday. (Photo: Praveen Khanna) 
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