Item No. 3.
Revision of CGHS rates for various
Facilities in the empanelled hospitals.
CGHS rates are too low!
NCCPA Secretary General writes to JCM NC Staff Side Secretary comrade Shiva Gopal Mishra to include the following item on enhanced rates of approval by CGHS for discussion with Government!
The present rules stipulated by the CGHS for various facilities provided by the empanelled hospitals to the CGHS beneficiaries are too low and consequently most of the hospitals are not only reluctant but refuse treatment. This has affected very adversely the health care of the beneficiaries and especially of the pensioners. Most of these rates are determined in 2014 i.e. about 7 years ago. The beneficiaries are per force to undertake treatment by incurring the extra expenses. There are virtually now no hospital, which provides treatment at such abysmally low rates. We do not have even a single hospital recognised or empanelled in certain important towns in the country. As mentioned earlier, to the best of our knowledge and information, the rates were not revised since 2014.
It is, therefore, necessary that a system based on certain pre determined criterion has to be evolved so that various procedures are provided by the empanelled hospitals without hassles and wilfully to the beneficiaries. In our opinion the Additional Direcotr in charge of each city or town may be asked to prepare the estimate for each procedure of the treatment, taking into account the various factors obtaining in the respective city and his report must serve as a basic document to determine the rates. The Additional Directors may be asked to interact with the leaders of the welfare associations of the beneficiaries in respective stations before he finalises his report to the CGHS authorities. The Additional Director may also be empowered to hold discussions with the management of the existing empanelled hospitals or hospitals which are willing to be empanelled to appreciate their contentions. The final rates determined by the CGHS authorities must have certain tenure period, say nore more than three years or so Such a system if adopted, we hope will go a long way to ease the present problems encountered by the CGHS beneficiaries.
We, therefore, demand that the rates presently fixed for various procedures may be immediately revised as it has become obsolete.
KKN Kutty
SG NCCPA
