The Aam Aadmi Party government in Panjab has rolled out the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana (Chief Minister Health Scheme, MMSY) that provides cashless medical treatment of up to USD 11K per family per year. The scheme will cover around 6.5M families, benefiting nearly 30M people in 823 empanelled hospitals. With no exclusions, the scheme aims to bring all residents of the state under a single healthcare coverage framework. However, top multi-specialty hospital chains such as Fortis and Max have refused to be part of the empanelled hospitals. Health cards can be obtained through sewa kendras (service centers) and online registration using Aadhaar (Identity Card) and Panjab Voter Identity Card. The scheme is being implemented through a hybrid financial model. Insurance coverage of USD 1.09K per family is provided through United India Insurance Company, while the remaining coverage is funded directly by the state government. A budgetary provision of USD 130M has been made for the scheme. Panjab’s debt burden is already USD 45.8B and its subsidy bill is over USD 2.3B which are reasons to view the scheme with skepticism. The skepticism also stems from the fact that in 2024–2025, private hospitals in Panjab, represented by the Private Hospital and Nursing Home Association (PHANA), suspended cashless treatment under the state-run health insurance scheme due to roughly USD 65M in pending dues, which is still unpaid. PHANA cautioned that once the scheme covers 100% population, empanelled hospitals would become fully dependent on government reimbursements. Honorary Secretary PHANA, Dr. Divyanshu Gupta said, ‘Any delay in payments may severely impact hospital operations, including the timely payment of staff salaries. Therefore, PHANA stressed that the 15-day payment clause mentioned in the Memorandum of Understanding be implemented strictly.’ Meanwhile, Panjabis celebrated Basant Panchmi (5th day of Spring) festival despite the day beginning with rain. Like every year, many used the deadly Chinese dor (plastic string) for flying kites, which can cut through skin and tissue. The dor claimed the life of Taranjot Singh, a 15 year-old who was returning home on a scooter in Samrala, Ludhiana district and got entangled in the string, causing an accident. The dor also injured three in Barnala and two in Muktsar (earlier coverage).
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