Gandhinagar: The state health department has imposed a total penalty of Rs 8.06 lakh on 26 private hospitals in Ahmedabad for charging fees from Ayushman Card holders.

The Health Minister of Gujarat, Rushikesh Patel, mentioned that a total of 55 complaints were received in the last two years regarding private hospitals validated for the Ayushman Bharat scheme charging patients despite them having Ayushman cards. These complaints were addressed in the steering committee meetings held every Thursday, during which beneficiaries and hospital trustees were summoned, and appropriate actions were taken if the complaints were found to be valid. After confirming the validity of 55 complaints, show-cause notices were sent to 26 private hospitals.

Among the 26 hospitals, the highest penalty of Rs 4,07,700 was imposed on Shivalik Hospital. Ahmedabad Institute of Medical Services faced a penalty of Rs 1,14,790, and GCS Hospital was penalised Rs 66,914. Other hospitals on the list included Shalby Hospital (Naroda), Kanba, Tapan, Sindhu, IKDRC, Global, Anand Surgical, Astha Orthopaedic, Health One, Artham, Bhagoday, Naritva Health Care, Kothiya, Parth, PHC Kumarkhan, Rajasthan, Rukshamani, Sant Muniseva, SVP, Shakti General, Shalin Healthcare, AMT Hospitals, and more. DeshGujarat