Srinagar, Aug. 3 -- Several patients in Kashmir have raised serious concerns about the practices followed by some private hospitals in the valley, alleging non-transparent billing and discriminatory treatment between insured and non-insured patients, particularly in cases involving surgeries under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) scheme.

Patients claim that while an initial cost estimate is given before undergoing a surgical procedure, the final billed amount often increases without prior notice. Some patients opting to avail cashless treatment under PM Ayushman say they were advised against it by hospital staff, being told that "standard" medicines and materials would only be used in cash-paying procedures....