The ongoing financial crisis in Himachal Pradesh has moved beyond administrative files and Secretariat meetings, landing a direct and devastating blow to the state’s healthcare system. Specifically, the promise of free treatment under the central Ayushman Bharat scheme and the state’s own ambitious Himcare initiative is now crumbling. The ground reality is that the state government has failed to provide its requisite share for these health schemes, causing hospital liabilities to skyrocket past 770 crore. Such is the state of financial mismanagement that the 40% share the state was mandated to contribute to Ayushman Bharat has remained pending for a long time. Furthermore, a massive 400 crore in Himcare bills remains unpaid, crushing the entire medical infrastructure under a mountain of debt.
The most human and painful aspect of this fiscal failure is the plight of poor patients who visit government hospitals trusting the promise of free care. Patients suffering from cancer and other critical ailments, traveling from districts like Kullu, Bilaspur, and Shimla, are being forced to purchase expensive injections and medicines from private medical stores. Lifesaving chemotherapy injections, which should be provided free of charge under the schemes, are now being bought by patients themselves under the pretext of “stock-outs” or “supply delays.” According to relatives of a patient from Bilaspur, a Himcare card only covers basic medicines; for critical injections costing up to 9,000 and routine tests priced at 2,400, they are forced to turn to private labs. Contrary to the tall claims made by the Prime Minister and the state government, free treatment is becoming a myth because hospitals lack the funds to pay their vendors.
The primary reason for this collapsing infrastructure is the staggering debt the government is unable to clear. Official figures show that approximately 400 crore is owed under the Himcare scheme, 250 crore under Ayushman Bharat, and 120 crore under the Sahara scheme. This continuous delay in payment has triggered a chain reaction: private vendors supplying surgical items, equipment, and other medical consumables have now withdrawn their services. Many vendors have explicitly stated that they will not provide further supplies until their old outstanding bills are cleared. Consequently, complex operations and surgeries are being postponed indefinitely in many hospitals, putting lives at risk.
Health Minister Colonel Dhani Ram Shandil argues that the indiscriminate issuance of Himcare cards in the past has led to this sudden economic pressure. To mitigate this, the government has now restricted the registration and renewal of Himcare and Ayushman cards to just twice a year. However, this move acts as a mere administrative Band-Aid that fails to address the depth of the crisis. Interestingly, the Principal Secretary of Finance, Devesh Kumar, even suggested shutting down welfare schemes like Himcare and Sahara to stabilize the state’s economy. Although Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu rejected the proposal, stating that no public interest scheme would be closed, the lack of funding has effectively put these schemes on life support.
While health officials claim the budget process is in the pipeline, doctors and hospital administrators are struggling on the front lines with a total lack of resources. When the supply of medicines, chemo injections, and surgical tools stops, a health card becomes meaningless. This situation indicates that Himachal’s healthcare framework is being sacrificed at the altar of a financial crunch. Reports by Manjeet Sehgal and local media coverage make it clear: unless the state government coordinates with the Center and uses internal resources to settle this 770 crore liability, “free healthcare” will remain nothing more than a political slogan. Currently, benefits are only reaching patients in fragments, and if this continues, private hospitals will flourish while the poor sink further into debt.
