Jaipur, Aug 27 : The Rajasthan government is preparing to take strict action against hospital operators in Jaipur and other cities who are opposing the Rajasthan Government Health Scheme (RGHS). Hospitals refusing to provide services under the scheme will be removed from the RGHS panel, while new hospitals are being empaneled in their place, a government statement said on Wednesday.

Principal Secretary of the Medical Health Department, Gayatri Rathore, said that a list of hospitals declining services under RGHS is being prepared. "Action will be taken against them as per the rules, and they will be removed from the panel."

She added that right now, more than 50 per cent of the hospitals in the state are providing treatment under RGHS, but a few operators are refusing to cooperate.

She said that to ensure that beneficiaries do not face problems, the government is planning to empanel new hospitals at all major locations. So far, more than 350 applications have been received from hospitals across the state that want to join the scheme. The action comes after reports of irregularities in about 5-7 private hospitals in Jaipur. Complaints were received against these hospitals, and penalties ranging from thousands to lakhs of rupees were imposed on them. To avoid penalties, some hospital operators formed a new association and announced to stop services under RGHS, while also attempting to bring private hospitals and pharma store operators across the state into the protest. Meanwhile, the Health Department has cleared a large part of the pending dues.

Officials said that since April this year, more than Rs 850 crore has been paid to hospitals under RGHS. Almost all pending payments before March 2025 have been cleared, except for those hospitals against whom irregularities were reported. Payments to such hospitals are either under investigation or have already been withheld due to proven violations.

/IANS