Members of the Andhra Pradesh Speciality Hospital Association (ASHA) have announced that all services under the Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva scheme will be discontinued from October 10, citing non-clearance of dues amounting to around ₹2,700 crore by the State government.
Addressing the media in Vijayawada on Wednesday, ASHA president K. Vijay Kumar said that network hospitals in the State had provided services worth more than ₹5,300 crore to the public since the formation of the TDP-led NDA government in June 2024. Of this, the government has cleared ₹3,800 crore so far. Dr. Vijay Kumar added that additional dues were carried over from the previous government, bringing the total pending amount to approximately ₹2,700 crore. Minister for Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare Satya Kumar Yadav recently stated in the Assembly that ₹670 crore has been uploaded on the Comprehensive Financial Management System, a government payments portal. However, the association said this amount is yet to be released.
Under the scheme, bills for services offered in network hospitals are normally cleared within two months. “But bills worth ₹2,000 crore have been under scrutiny for more than 400 days, with no clarity on when they will be settled,” Dr. Vijay Kumar said. It may be recalled that the association had previously announced the discontinuation of medical services in May. The decision was later reversed following intervention by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The current decision comes after little progress in clearing the pending dues.
“Once again, we are unable to continue providing medical services under the scheme as the dues are mounting. Patients will now have to pay out of pocket for pre-operative procedures, such as blood tests and scans,” said ASHA vice president S.V.L. Narayana Rao. Treatments, however, will continue to be provided free of charge, but all services under the Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva scheme will stop from October 10. The association has decided to abstain from meetings or discussions until the ₹670 crore uploaded on the portal is released, and urged that the scrutiny process for the remaining ₹2,000 crore be completed immediately. In a letter to the Health Minister, ASHA clarified that the decision to halt services is intended to emphasise the urgency of the matter, not to inconvenience the public. The association also stressed that pending dues must be cleared before the introduction of the Universal Health Scheme in the State.
Published – September 24, 2025 09:41 pm IST
