The State Government is planning to make the U- health card scheme compulsory for all serving and retired employees but in proper implementation of the scheme the planners would have to remove many obstacles like less number of paneled hospitals and acute shortage of staff. The scheme which is at present covers only about 15000 employees of state government is being managed by a U -health card unit stationed at state health directorate. The unit at present is manned by only five employees. It is estimated that more than four lakh people would be brought under the scheme as the government want to include all serving and retired employees and their families under the scheme.
The in-charge of U-health card cell, Dr Bharati Rana told The Pioneer that on the directive of state administration a proposal for constituting a committee for monitoring the scheme has been sent. The committee once constituted would be provided with budget and power of recruitment of manpower for the scheme. Dr Rana said that more hospitals both government and private would be brought under the ambit of the scheme to make it more effective.
To provide the benefit of cashless health insurance to its employees and pensioners the state government launched the U -health card scheme on October 25, 2010. The scheme was made optional for the employees but mismanagement and delay in payment ensured that both the employees and the hospitals preferred to keep a distance from this scheme.
At present there are only eleven hospitals in the state and two located in National Capital Region (NCR) that are in the panel of the scheme (Medanta Medicity Gurgaon and National Heart Institute New Delhi).
Under the scheme an annual premium of Rs 5000 is charged from the employee having grade pay in excess of Rs 6600 while those getting a grade pay of Rs 4200 to Rs 5400 a sum of Rs 3500 is charged. The employees getting grade pay of Rs 1900 and 1800 need to shell out Rs 1500 while those receiving less are liable to pay only Rs 700 per year. The pensioners are also accorded the benefit of the scheme. Under the U health card the card holders and their families are accorded unlimited cashless medical reimbursement in the empanelled hospitals.