Exposed: How Private Hospitals Deny Treatment To Ayushman Bharat Card Holders

In this investigative report, India Today’s special correspondent Nitin Jain conducts a multi-state reality check on the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana. The sting operation reveals that despite the scheme’s promise of free healthcare, many empanelled private hospitals in Delhi-NCR, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh are turning away poor patients or demanding cash payments. At Sushila Hospital in Outer Delhi, a doctor is caught on camera suggesting that patients ‘shell out almost 80,000 to 90,000 rupees’ over the government package for better implants. Similarly, hospitals in Chandigarh and Mohali are found discouraging cardholders, citing pending government dues or claiming specific ailments like dengue are not covered. The report exposes how the ‘game-changing scheme’ is being flouted at the hospital gate, leaving the economically vulnerable without the promised care.