The PGI has stopped treatment under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana for patients hailing from Punjab after the state government failed to repay dues for seven months amounting to Rs 16 crore. Every month, PGI registers around 1,200–1,400 patients who opt for treatment under the insurance scheme. As a result, patients are at the receiving end now that the PGI has halted the treatment due to non-reimbursement of funds. Also, no other government hospital in Punjab offers treatment under the scheme.

The Deputy Director of PGI, Dr. Kumar Gaurav Dhawan, stated that the State Health Authority has been requested to clear the pending payment. He also added that last month, the PGI had also written to the National Health Authority, the implementing agency for the scheme, seeking its intervention so that the claims could be reimbursed. The Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, had halted the treatment of patients hailing from Punjab from March 2022 after the dues accumulated to Rs 2.3 crore. The Punjab government owes over Rs 3 crore under the scheme to the GMCH, Sector 32, the GMSH, Sector 16, and several other private hospitals in Chandigarh.

The Ayushman Bharat Mukhya Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana was launched on August 20, 2019. The scheme aimed to provide health protection by providing financial cover to 65% of the population in the form of health insurance coverage of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year.