Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh health department has uncovered a major fraud involving the creation of fake Ayushman Bharat cards and fraudulent billing under the state’s health insurance scheme.
Officials found that tampering was done on the Saachij portal to generate around 300 fake cards, followed by attempts to secure bill payments for fictitious patient admissions.
Fraudulent Billing Attempts For Fake Patient Admissions
Preliminary findings revealed that advance sanction letters for nearly 70 patients were uploaded on the portal to claim treatment expenses. Once the irregularities came to light, authorities froze all related hospital payments and launched a joint inquiry.
Hospitals And IP Addresses Under Investigation
The identified hospitals are now under scrutiny by a special investigation team, while the Hazratganj police are tracing IP addresses linked to the portal manipulation. Commissioner of Police Vikas Jaiswal confirmed that the complainant, Dr. Sachin Vaishya, will soon record his statement as part of the probe.
Meanwhile, questions have been raised over recent hospital empanelments under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Several hospital operators claim that despite applying months ago, their approvals were delayed, while newly applied hospitals received empanelment swiftly , sparking suspicions of internal manipulation.
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Internal Inquiry Launched Into Saachij Personnel
Officials have also initiated an internal inquiry into Saachij personnel to determine whether departmental staff were complicit in the digital fraud. The department has vowed strict action against any employee or institution found involved in the scam.
