New Delhi, Aug. 10 -- The government has de-empanelled 2,359 hospitals and suspended another 1,200 under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) for violating scheme guidelines, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on 7 August.

The government has also lodged 29 FIRs against errant hospitals and imposed penalties totalling Rs.328.49 crore, as it steps up efforts to prevent fraud and unauthorised billing under the government's flagship health assurance scheme.

For beneficiaries, the action is important because de-empanelled or suspended hospitals cannot provide treatment under PM-JAY during their exclusion. Beneficiaries should therefore check the current empanelment status of a...