Hundreds of kidney patients in Manipur undergoing life-saving dialysis have been pushed to the brink of despair as the government fails to release pending bills under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) and the Chief Minister’s Health for All (CMHT) scheme. Private hospitals across the state have announced that from November 6, they will begin charging patients directly for dialysis sessions — a move that many fear will spell a death sentence for those too poor to afford treatment.
The two flagship health schemes — one by the Centre and another by the State — were introduced with much fanfare to ensure that no citizen is denied medical care due to poverty. Yet, the present crisis exposes a grim contradiction between policy promises and on-ground reality. Private hospitals say the government has not cleared months of pending dues, forcing them to withdraw free dialysis services.
According to hospital sources, the minimum charge for a single dialysis session is around Rs. 2,500, often higher depending on the patient’s condition. A patient typically requires two to four sessions per week, making it impossible for many families to bear the cost.
Among those now staring at an uncertain future is Tongbram Romen, a resident of Govindagram in Wangoi Assembly Constituency, who has been receiving regular dialysis. In tears, he told reporters, “I am afraid to die. I want to live. But now I feel I will die soon because I cannot afford dialysis. Sometimes I can’t even sleep, thinking that my days are numbered.”
Romen’s plea reflects the anguish of hundreds of dialysis patients across the state. Their lives now hang in limbo, caught between bureaucratic delay and administrative apathy.
The All Manipur Dialysis Patients Association has also appealed to the government to immediately release the pending PMJAY and CMHT funds to hospitals, warning that any further delay could lead to preventable deaths.
As Manipur’s healthcare system faces yet another credibility crisis, the silence from the authorities grows more deafening — and for patients like Romen, every passing day is a cruel reminder that promises alone cannot save lives.