AP clears Rs 1,000 crore dues to private hospitals

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh govt has initiated the long-pending dues clearance to empanelled private hospitals under the Dr NTR Vaidya Seva Trust, rolling out Rs 1,000 crore through a "tri-party bill discounting agreement" (TBDA) mechanism.As part of the process, a dedicated online portal developed by the AP Centre for Financial Systems and Services is being used to execute agreements and streamline payments. So far, 323 hospitals have applied under the scheme, and payments have already begun for institutions that completed formalities. Around Rs 62 crore was released to 25 hospitals in the first phase.Officials said that a total of Rs 2,044 crore is currently pending with 873 private hospitals. Of this, bills worth Rs 1,000 crore have been verified and cleared for immediate disbursal under the TBDA model. The payments are being directly credited to the bank accounts of participating hospitals.Under the mechanism, the AP Power Finance Corporation is releasing funds on behalf of the State Govt after deducting applicable annual interest in advance. The remaining amount is then paid to hospitals, enabling quicker liquidity while deferring the State's financial burden.The govt stated that since assuming office, it has paid Rs 5,556 crore to empanelled hospitals, including clearing Rs 2,403 crore in dues left behind by the previous regime as of June 2024. Between June 2024 and April 2026, medical services worth Rs 6,900 crore have been delivered under the scheme, with Rs 3,162.68 crore already reimbursed to hospitals.According to the official data, despite the ongoing payments, dues totalling Rs 3,746.68 crore remain outstanding, including Rs 2,044.17 crore to private hospitals.