AHPI urges Star Health to restore cashless services to protect patient & stop hospital inconvenience

New Delhi: The Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI) has raised strong concern over the suspension of cashless services by Star Health Insurance at several member hospitals, including leading tertiary care chains. This sudden withdrawal has left hospitals struggling to manage distressed patients who are being denied the basic facility of cashless treatment. Hospitals and nursing homes under the Indian Medical Association Hospital Board have echoed the same concerns.

In addition to suspending services, Star Health has slowed down or halted the empanelment of new hospitals, further limiting patient access to cashless care. According to AHPI, this dual policy of suspension and denial of empanelment is causing unnecessary hardship, eroding patient trust, and undermining the credibility of health insurance.

Cashless services have reportedly been suspended in multiple facilities such as Care Hospitals (Vizag), Manipal Hospitals (Delhi and Gurugram), Max Hospitals (North India), Metro Hospital (Faridabad), Medanta Hospital (Lucknow), Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Hospital (New Delhi), Sarvodaya Hospital (Faridabad), and Yatharth Hospitals. Similarly, empanelment has been denied to hospitals including Care Health City (Vizag), Fortis Hospital (Manesar), Jupiter Hospital (Indore), Max Hospital (Dwarka), and Medanta Hospital (Noida), restricting patient choice and forcing families into reimbursement—a practice that defeats the very purpose of health insurance.

AHPI has demanded the immediate restoration of cashless services across all affected hospitals and the fast-tracking of empanelment for new hospitals to ensure seamless access to care nationwide. Responding to a recent statement by the General Insurance Council (GIC), AHPI clarified that its stand was not arbitrary but a necessary response to the unilateral and arbitrary actions of Star Health in suspending services.

Issuing a joint statement, Dr. Girdhar Gyani, Director General, AHPI, and Dr. Abul Hasan, Chairman, IMA Hospital Board, emphasized: “Patients purchase health insurance with the clear expectation of receiving cashless treatment at quality hospitals. It is unfair to deny this facility after collecting premiums, leaving families financially and emotionally burdened at the time of hospitalization. Star Health must act urgently to restore trust and safeguard patient rights.”