Delhi Health Minister Dr. Pankaj Singh on Thursday announced that 100 more hospitals will be empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) within the next 10 days, taking the total number of participating hospitals in the capital to 165. The updated list is expected to include leading private hospitals such as Fortis Healthcare, with a formal launch of the expanded network scheduled for the first week of September.
Currently, 151 hospitals—107 private and 44 government-run—are empanelled under AB-PMJAY in Delhi, according to the National Health Authority (NHA).
The minister noted that several hospitals had initially been reluctant to join due to pending payments under the earlier Delhi Arogya Kosh (DAK) scheme. “Nearly ₹100 crore in bills were pending by the previous government, of which a large portion has now been cleared. About ₹20 crore is still being settled. Fortis has already applied to join the Ayushman panel,” Dr. Singh said, as reported by Hindustan Times.
Under the earlier DAK scheme, patients were entitled to financial support of up to ₹5 lakh in government hospitals across Delhi-NCR. With Delhi’s formal adoption of AB-PMJAY in April 2025, beneficiaries now receive double the coverage—up to ₹10 lakh annually—₹5 lakh from the Centre and an additional ₹5 lakh top-up from the Delhi government.
Delhi became the 35th state or Union Territory to implement AB-PMJAY following the signing of two MoUs in April between the Delhi government and the Union Health Ministry. The scheme provides cashless treatment for 1,961 procedures across 27 specialties, including surgeries, diagnostics, ICU care, medicines, and hospitalisation.
Health officials said that since the scheme’s rollout in Delhi, a total of ₹13,337 crore has been disbursed for Ayushman card users, with ₹3.75 crore contributed by the Delhi government.
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Meerut: Consumer Court Orders Star Health to Pay Rs 1.6 Lakh After Denial of Covid Insurance Claim
In a significant ruling, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Hapur, has directed Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd to pay Rs 1.6 lakh to a policyholder after his wife’s Covid-19 treatment claim was wrongfully rejected.
The case dates back to September 2020, when the complainant’s wife was admitted to a private hospital in Ghaziabad with Covid-19 and underwent treatment for four days, incurring expenses of over Rs 2 lakh. Despite being covered under a ₹15 lakh Super Surplus Floater Revised Mediclaim Policy, the insurer denied the claim in May 2024, alleging non-disclosure of a pre-existing condition.
Challenging the rejection, the complainant argued before the Commission that his wife had no prior serious illness and was admitted to Ghaziabad only because no beds were available in Hapur.
After reviewing the case, the Commission observed that the insurer had wrongfully denied the Covid claim. It ordered Star Health to pay Rs 1.5 lakh towards hospital bills and an additional Rs 5,000 as compensation for mental stress, totaling Rs 1.6 lakh.
The Commission also directed that the amount must be paid within 45 days, failing which a 6% annual penalty interest would apply.
