AIIMS doctors want to extend health scheme

Doctors and staff members of AIIMS have pitched for extending their health benefit scheme beyond the premiere institute to all other hospitals empanelled with the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).
This will be one of agenda's to be discussed in the upcoming AIIMS' Standing Finance Committee and Governing Body meeting.
An EHS card holder of the premiere institute at present can avail regular treatment and check-ups done at AIIMS only.
He cannot go to any other hospital for treatment which is a problem, one of the faculty members said.
"Faculty of AIIMS do not have a pan India coverage of their health and thus availing treatment becomes difficult for them when they go back home to other states after retirement.

"This is a long pending demand of the staff members and faculty that they should be able to avail the medical facilities same as their counterparts in central government services (Central Government Health Scheme) to ensure cash less and pan-India emergency and non-emergency health care coverage to the retired faculties," said AIIMS spokesperson Amit Gupta.

Even otherwise, Gupta said that AIIMS faculty members go to various other states for conferences and an health emergency can arise anytime during which they may need to seek treatment at any other hospital.
According to AIIMS Act, 1956, Regulation 35, employees of AIIMS are entitled to all allowances which are provided to the central government employees.

AIIMS administration has been backing the demand and the issue was raised at AIIMS' standing finance committee meeting in 2013, but it could not be approved.
AIIMS administration also plans to raise the issue with the Union Health Ministry.