Anantnag, June 23: Fresh documents that have surfaced in connection with the suspension of cardiologist Dr Syed Maqbool have raised questions about whether the controversy was linked solely to an individual doctor or involved a broader dispute over approvals under the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.
The documents, reviewed by the news agency Kashmir News Trust, include a notarized undertaking by a patient and an official communication from Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag to the Chief Executive Officer of the State Health Agency (SHA), Jammu and Kashmir.
In the undertaking, a patient identified as Peer Rafiq Ahmad of Gazinabad, Anantnag, states that he was suffering from a cardiac condition requiring permanent pacemaker implantation. He claims that while a standard dual-chamber pacemaker procedure was available under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, he opted for a Left Bundle Branch Area Pacing (LBBA) procedure after consultation with doctors.
The patient states that he was informed that the advanced procedure was not being approved under the scheme and that several similar cases from GMC Anantnag had reportedly faced rejection at the pre-authorization stage.
According to the undertaking, the patient voluntarily paid ₹70,000 through an authorized AMRIT store to undergo the procedure. The document further states that no money was paid directly or indirectly to Dr Syed Maqbool and that no doctor or hospital official forced or induced him to make the payment.
The second document, an official communication issued by GMC Anantnag to the CEO of SHA Jammu and Kashmir, seeks revocation of rejected pre-authorizations for multiple cardiology cases involving LBBA procedures.
In the letter, the hospital states that the procedures, each costing approximately ₹1.70 lakh, had been rejected at the pre-authorization level, affecting the institution’s ability to provide timely treatment to patients with serious cardiac conditions. The hospital requested review of the rejected cases and approval of the procedures.
The documents do not disclose the reasons for the rejection of the cases, nor do they indicate whether the decisions were subsequently reviewed or reversed by the State Health Agency.
The emergence of the documents has introduced a new dimension to the controversy surrounding Dr Syed Maqbool, as they suggest that the issue may have involved questions relating to insurance approvals, procedure coverage and patient payments rather than being confined to the conduct of an individual doctor.
It remains unclear whether Left Bundle Branch Area Pacing was covered under the applicable Ayushman Bharat package at the time the procedures were performed, whether the rejections were based on policy provisions, technical grounds or documentation issues, and how many patients may have been affected.
KNT reached out to officials for comments on the documents and the status of the rejected cases. Officials said that all relevant documentary evidence has already been submitted before the inquiry committee for examination. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the matter was more complex than it had been portrayed in sections of the media and asserted that additional facts would emerge during the course of the inquiry. [KNT]
