Panchkula, July 6 -- Heart procedures for Ayushman Bharat card holders have come to a standstill across four Haryana districts, including Panchkula, due to unpaid dues worth Rs.9 crore. The Meditrina Group of Hospitals, which runs cardiac centres inside government hospitals under a public-private partnership with the Haryana government, has suspended these services since the end of May. In Panchkula alone, dues amount to Rs.1.29 crore, severely impacting patients who were previously receiving subsidised treatment under the Centre's flagship health insurance scheme. The halt has shifted the burden to PGI Chandigarh, with patients from Panchkula and surrounding areas now being forced to seek treatment there. The Meditrina Group, which has operated the Panchkula heart centre since 2017, clarified that it does not have a direct agreement with the Ayushman Bharat scheme but had been offering cashless services based on directions from the Haryana health department. With no payments forthcoming for months, the hospital group says it was forced to stop services to Ayushman card holders. "The issue has persisted since 2018," said a senior Meditrina official. "Out of the Rs.1.55 crore due in Panchkula, Rs.44 lakh has been pending for seven years. Another Rs.85 lakh added up this year alone. We've only received Rs.29 lakh recently." The situation is similar in other districts where Rs.3.23 crore is pending in Faridabad, Rs.2.70 crore pending in Ambala and Rs.1.75 crore pending in Gurugram. Altogether, including dues for treating BPL families, SC category beneficiaries, and Haryana government employees and pensioners, the total pending amount across these centres has risen to Rs.31 crore, including interest. The group claims that despite offering procedures at nearly 69% lower than CGHS rates-such as providing cardiac stent treatments at Rs.55,000-Rs.60,000 versus the current Rs.86,000 market rate-they have received no revision in rates under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Dr Manju Pratap, CEO and director of Meditrina Group, has written multiple times to the director general of health services (DGHS), seeking rate revisions and payment clearances. Civil Hospital Panchkula's principal medical officer (PMO) Dr RS Chauhan confirmed the crisis, saying that the additional chief secretary (health) Sudhir Rajpal has intervened. A recent meeting led to the release of Rs.29 lakh, with further disbursements expected soon to prevent disruption in services for needy patients....