What happened
In a policy shift described as a strengthening of public healthcare, the Assam government removed kidney dialysis from the list of services covered at private empanelled hospitals under Ayushman Bharat and its state equivalent, effective July 1, 2026. The stated reason: government dialysis facilities had expanded sufficiently to absorb all patients. The actual count at Assam Medical College and Hospital — the principal tertiary care centre for an entire region — is twelve machines. Hundreds of patients staged a road blockade at AMCH's gates on June 22, warning that people dependent on three sessions a week would simply die. A father appealed directly to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to reconsider, noting his daughter's survival depended on it. The government, whose press releases documented the infrastructure expansion in some detail, has not publicly responded to the protests.