NTR Vaidya Seva Trust Cracks Down on Hospitals Over Irregularities

The NTR Vaidya Seva Trust has taken action against 203 hospitals over alleged irregularities, imposing penalties totalling ₹34.39 crore during the 2024–25 to 2026–27 period. The trust has issued 25 suspensions, stopped payments in 13 cases, removed five hospitals from its network and cancelled the recognition of another hospital. Over the past six months, it has acted in 114 cases, focusing on deficiencies in medical services and suspicious billing practices. The trust has warned hospitals against collecting money from patients for treatments covered under the free healthcare scheme and said strict action would follow if eligible patients were denied cashless treatment.

The trust has investigated patient complaints and examined medical records. It plans to use artificial intelligence to identify suspicious bills, with action to be taken only after the findings are verified with supporting evidence. The trust is reviewing around 6,000 pre-authorisation requests and checking bills for approximately 5,600 treatments daily. Pre-authorisation requests will undergo a two-stage review, while bills will be checked through a four-stage process. The trust has also prioritised faster scrutiny and settlement of pending bills to prevent the misuse of government funds. CEO Padmavathi submitted a report detailing these measures to Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Satyakumar Yadav.