UP: 200 private hospitals penalised for Ayushman Bharat non-compliance
Synopsis
Over 200 private hospitals across 23 UP districts have been penalised — payments frozen or empanelment suspended — for refusing to migrate to the Ayushman Bharat HEM 2.0 portal. With 95% compliance already achieved, the state is signalling zero tolerance for holdouts, and a broader push for NABH certification and digital health records is already underway.
Key Takeaways
The Uttar Pradesh government has penalised over 200 private hospitals for non-compliance with Ayushman Bharat standards.
Payments to 100 hospitals have been suspended; another 100 have been removed from the empanelled panel.
Hospitals must meet 35 key standards , including HFR registration, fire safety NOC, and infrastructure requirements, to remain on the HEM 2.0 portal.
More than 95% of empanelled hospitals have already completed the HEM 2.0 migration.
Non-compliant hospitals span 23 districts , including Lucknow, Kanpur Nagar, Ghaziabad, and Prayagraj.
The Yogi Adityanath government has additionally mandated NABH certification and phased rollout of Electronic Health Records (EHR) for all empanelled facilities.
The Uttar Pradesh government has taken action against over 200 private hospitals for failing to meet the updated standards of the Ayushman Bharat scheme, including the mandatory migration to the Hospital Empanelment Module (HEM) 2.0 portal — even after repeated reminders and warnings. Payments to 100 hospitals have been stopped, while another 100 have been suspended from the scheme's empanelled panel.
What the New Standards Require
Under the revised framework, hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat must meet 35 key standards before being listed on the HEM portal. These requirements include a valid hospital registration certificate, fire safety NOC, adequate infrastructure, verified doctors' educational qualifications, Health Facility Registry (HFR) registration, and other prescribed documentation.
More than 95 percent of empanelled hospitals have successfully completed the migration to HEM 2.0. The penalised hospitals are those that failed to complete the process within the stipulated timeline despite multiple opportunities to comply.
Districts Where Hospitals Face Action
The non-compliant hospitals are spread across 23 districts, including Agra, Aligarh, Prayagraj, Amethi, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Hardoi, Hathras, Jaunpur, Jhansi, Kannauj, Kanpur Nagar, Kushinagar, Lalitpur, Lucknow, Mathura, Mau, Meerut, Ambedkar Nagar, Rampur, and Sonbhadra. The geographic spread underlines that this is a state-wide enforcement drive rather than a localised crackdown.
What the Government Said
Archana Verma, Chief Executive Officer of the State Agency for Comprehensive Health and Integrated Services (SACHIS), said corrective measures are being taken to make health services more transparent and accountable. The stated objective of the action is to ensure that Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries receive only standard-based, quality healthcare.
The Yogi Adityanath government has also directed all empanelled hospitals to obtain NABH quality certification, adding another layer of quality assurance to the scheme's compliance architecture.
Broader Digital and Quality Reforms
Beyond the HEM portal migration, the state government has mandated the implementation of the ABDM-enabled Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) across empanelled hospitals to digitise and streamline patient management. The Electronic Health Record (EHR) system is being rolled out in phases alongside these measures.
Regular audits and monitoring are also being conducted at both the state and district levels to detect and prevent irregularities. This layered compliance push — combining portal migration, quality certification, digital health records, and audits — signals a structural overhaul of how Uttar Pradesh administers its public health empanelment. Whether the penalised hospitals move swiftly to comply or challenge the action will determine the next phase of this enforcement drive.
Point of View
The holdouts are a small but significant minority — and their geographic spread across 23 districts suggests the problem is structural, not just administrative. The real question is whether payment suspension and de-empanelment are enough to deter future non-compliance, or whether beneficiaries in affected districts face a gap in accessible Ayushman-covered care while hospitals sort out paperwork. Adding NABH certification on top of the HEM migration raises the compliance bar further — a worthy goal, but one that could thin the network in underserved districts if smaller hospitals cannot meet the cost of certification.
NationPress
7 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why has the UP government penalised over 200 private hospitals?
The Uttar Pradesh government penalised over 200 private hospitals for failing to migrate to the Hospital Empanelment Module (HEM) 2.0 portal and meet the 35 mandatory standards required under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The action came despite repeated reminders and warnings issued to non-compliant facilities.
What action has been taken against the non-compliant hospitals?
Payments have been suspended for 100 hospitals, while another 100 have been removed from the Ayushman Bharat empanelled panel. Both measures are intended to enforce compliance with the updated quality and documentation standards.
What are the 35 standards hospitals must meet under Ayushman Bharat?
The 35 key standards include a valid hospital registration certificate, fire safety NOC, required infrastructure, verified doctors' educational qualifications, Health Facility Registry (HFR) registration, and other prescribed documents and arrangements. Hospitals must pass a facility quality assessment before being listed on the HEM portal.
Which districts are affected by the crackdown?
Non-compliant hospitals are located across 23 districts, including Agra, Aligarh, Prayagraj, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Kanpur Nagar, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Jhansi, and Sonbhadra, among others. The spread indicates a state-wide enforcement exercise.
What additional reforms is the UP government implementing for Ayushman Bharat hospitals?
The Yogi Adityanath government has directed all empanelled hospitals to obtain NABH quality certification. It is also mandating the implementation of an ABDM-enabled Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) and rolling out Electronic Health Records (EHR) in phases, alongside regular state and district-level audits.
