On the call of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Haryana, private doctors suspended Ayushman services for 24 hours on Tuesday over prolonged delays in the settlement of claims.As per the IMA, payments amounting to around Rs 1,200 crore of nearly 650 hospitals against Ayushman claims have been pending for more than six months. Private doctors said the one-day suspension of services was only symbolic and warned that if their demands were not addressed, they would suspend the services indefinitely from September 16.Dr Jattvibeila Soni, IMA state president, said that despite an assured timeline of around 15 days for clearing claims, the prolonged delays were making it difficult for hospitals to operate smoothly. She said that in May, the state government had assured the IMA that the pending dues would be cleared at the earliest and that fresh claims would be settled within the prescribed timeline.Apart from demanding the disbursement of pending Ayushman claims, private doctors are also seeking a fair and transparent claim-settlement process, with proper justification for deductions and a mechanism to ensure that operational issues are discussed and resolved in a timely manner. They are also demanding the inclusion of IMA representatives in the District Grievance Redressal Committee and the state’s empanelment committee.“We had already served an ultimatum to the state government to resolve our demands before September 1. Otherwise, we would suspend the services for 24 hours, from midnight on September 1 to midnight on September 2. As the deadline has passed, we have suspended the services today,” she said.“The situation had become extremely serious for some hospitals. One hospital was recently forced to shut down due to financial difficulties. Prolonged delays in reimbursement could continue to create financial strain and affect the ability of hospitals to sustain Ayushman services,” she added.Dr Sandeep Choudhary, a senior doctor of Karnal, said that it was not the first time that private hospitals were forced to suspend Ayushman services. In May this year, the IMA was also forced to issue a warning, following which a meeting was held with the authorities. Last year, services were also suspended for a few days, causing considerable inconvenience to patients. The services were subsequently resumed after assurances were given by the authorities.“We are not against to extend services to patients, but without funds we are not able to continue the flagship programme of the Union government,” he added.As per an estimate, around Rs 40 crore of Karnal’s doctors is pending, he maintained.The Ayushman Bharat scheme is particularly important for economically weaker sections, who depend on empanelled hospitals for cashless treatment.On the other hand, the authorities claimed that no major impact of one-day strike was visible as the government hospitals are already extending Ayushman services. “Our government hospitals are already providing services under Ayushman Bharat scheme. We are fully prepared to accommodate more patients under this scheme,” said Dr Poonam Chaudhary, Civil Surgeon, Karnal.