Employees health scheme continues to face hiccups

The new employees health scheme, launched last month, continues to face implementation challenges for the State Government. The Finance Department has added extra fields to the IFMIS enabling DDOs to input and update employee and their dependents' details on the scheme. However, the scheme's rollout has been marred by complaints from employees, who are frustrated that the cards are being issued based on outdated government data.

The department emphasized the need for accurate, supported information in the portal. Timely completion is crucial for issuing health cards to eligible employees and their dependents. DDOs have been instructed to prioritize data uploads to prevent any eligible individual from being overlooked due to incomplete or incorrect information.

For pensioners, the Treasury Department is tasked with gathering details like Aadhaar, blood group, and photographs, and registering them for the scheme. The deadline for the process completion is August 15. The scheme offers 1,816 medical and surgical packages for cashless treatment at 886 private hospitals and 114 government-run institutions, aiming to benefit 17.88 lakh people, including 4.38 lakh employees and 3.61 lakh pensioners.

Despite the scheme's launch, employees are dissatisfied with its delayed implementation. They are unhappy about the deduction of 1.5% of their basic salary or pension as their contribution, yet the scheme has yet to commence. Additionally, employees have raised concerns over the absence of clarity on memorandums of understanding signed with the Telangana Network Hospitals Association and the issues they face while updating the database of employees and their dependents.