Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government has started an audit of the HIMCARE scheme, directing the State Audit Department to review patient records, illnesses treated, and associated expenditures. Officials are scrutinizing major government and private hospitals, including Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) Shimla, Tanda Medical College Kangra, and PGI Chandigarh. The Principal Secretary (Finance) has instructed the department to conduct this investigation.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced in the Assembly that the government will examine irregularities in the HIMCARE scheme. He stated that the previous government spent ₹800 crore under the scheme, and the audit findings will be presented in the Assembly. The Finance Department has issued instructions for the audit, and private hospitals must submit relevant records.
Auditors review all treatments conducted under the Himcare scheme during the current and previous governments. Officials are determining the number of beneficiaries and verifying whether hospitals have the necessary equipment for the claimed treatments.
The Chief Minister alleged that private hospitals misappropriated approximately ₹350 crore under Himcare. The current government has already settled ₹190 crore in dues. He revealed that during the previous government’s tenure, 9.5 lakh patients sought treatment under the scheme, causing an alleged loss of ₹1,000 crore to the state’s GDP. The present government has allocated ₹306 crore for Himcare over the last two years.
Sukhu accused some MBBS doctors of opening private hospitals, registering under Himcare, and receiving payments as high as ₹6 crore annually. He pointed out that some single-storey buildings quickly expanded into five-storey structures through these earnings.
The audit aims to uncover financial mismanagement and misuse of funds. The government seeks to ensure transparency and accountability in the Himcare scheme and prevent the exploitation of public healthcare funds.
