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| Govt may hike CGHS contribution | | | AGENCIES
NEW DELHI: In a move that is sure to annoy central government employees and pensioners, health ministry has increased their contribution to Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) by four times.
The ministry has, ironically as it may seem to employees and pensioners, justified the proposal by pointing to the rise in wage and pension bill of the CGHS because of the sixth pay commission -- something that hugely benefited central government employees.
The new rates would not be applicable to those retired employees who have secured a lifetime CGHS card by paying a lumpsum amount equivalent to 10 years contribution.
"The upward revision of pay/pension of doctors and other staff in CGHS has increased the cost of operating the scheme. It has therefore been decided to revise the rates of subscriptions to the scheme to be made by beneficiaries, for availing benefits with effect from June 1, 2009," the ministry has argued. It added that this order would take precedence over all earlier instructions in this connection.
The ministry plans to raise about Rs 1,200 crore with the increase in contribution from employees and pensioners.
As per the new order, employees who so far had to pay a meagre Rs 10 will now have to pay Rs 50, while those currently paying Rs 100 will now have to pay Rs 325. Those the highest bracket, paying Rs 125, will now be made to pay Rs 500.
While many may justify the increase by pointing to the facilities that CGHS members can avail of at the country's best hospitals, government employees are not happy. Some of them see it as a veiled attempt to hand over "huge chunk of business" (estimated worth Rs 1200 crore) to private health insurers and the first step to bring the rates at par with what is charged by private insurers.
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