Nagpur has 390 hospitals, but only 94 are on the Ayushman scheme panel
Card enrolment is rising in Nagpur district, but patients have limited hospital choice as private hospitals object to package rates and delayed payments.
To provide free treatment to poor and needy families in Nagpur district, the government has launched the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) and the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY). Eligible families get treatment cover of up to Rs 5 lakh a year under these schemes.
The drive to make Ayushman cards has also been stepped up in the district. But even after cards are made, patients still have limited choice of hospitals for treatment.
Nagpur district has more than 390 hospitals, but only 94 are on the scheme's panel. Of these, 71 are private and 24 are government hospitals. The district has set a target of making Ayushman cards for 48,81,842 citizens, and more than 19 lakh cards have been made so far.
A large number of people are thus coming under the scheme while panel hospitals are relatively few. Patients in many areas may have to travel to distant hospitals to avail of the scheme. Options for serious illnesses and specialist treatment could be even fewer.
Efforts to increase the participation of private hospitals are continuing. In October 2024, about 52 hospitals in Nagpur were linked to the scheme. By February 2026 the number had risen to about 86, and it is now 94. Even so, the panel remains a small share of the more than 390 hospitals.
The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana covers testing and treatment for 2,399 illnesses. The government fixes a package rate for every treatment and surgery, and private hospitals object most to these rates. Hospitals say the costs of medicines, implants, ICU, specialist doctors, nursing staff, electricity, equipment and other items keep rising, while the package amount fixed for many treatments does not match the actual cost.
Delayed payments are also a major problem for hospitals. According to sources, payments of more than Rs 100 crore to government and private hospitals in Nagpur have been pending for the past four to five months.
There have also been complaints of deductions from payments after scrutiny and audit of claims in some cases. Long delays in payment put financial pressure on payments for medicines, medical suppliers and staff. It has therefore been described as necessary to review package rates and ensure timely payment, along with increasing the number of hospitals on the scheme.
