‘Highly pragmatic and replicable’: Parliamentary panel backs Assam’s hospital funding model
A parliamentary panel has backed Assam’s model allowing public hospitals to retain and reinvest AB-PMJAY reimbursements. It has asked the Union health ministry to frame SOPs so the approach can be adopted nationwide.
- Aug 13, 2026,
- Updated Aug 13, 2026, 9:04 PM IST
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has welcomed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare’s recognition of the state’s model of allowing public hospitals to retain and reinvest reimbursements received under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
The committee has described the approach as a “highly pragmatic and replicable model” and recommended that the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issue standard operating procedures (SOPs) to enable public hospitals across the country to adopt it.
Under Assam’s model, AB-PMJAY reimbursements retained by public hospitals can be reinvested in infrastructure, medical equipment and patient welfare.
Reacting to the recommendation, Sarma said he was “pleased to learn” that the committee had recognised Assam’s efforts.
The chief minister expressed his “sincere gratitude” to committee chairman Ram Gopal Yadav and its members for recognising the state’s initiative.
“It is a matter of great pride” that an initiative from Assam has been recognised as a model worthy of wider adoption, Sarma said.