Great news for CGHS beneficiaries: Medical bills worth lakhs can now be cleared in a jiffy, the Center has increased the financial powers of officials.

No need to wait for expensive treatment and medical bills The Union Health Ministry has announced big relief for lakhs of government employees and pensioners. Now beneficiaries will not have to visit the headquarters for expensive treatment, surgery and medical bills under CGHS (Central Government Health Scheme). The government has significantly increased the financial powers of local authorities, which will now speed up the process of approval of bills. The biggest advantage of this decision is that instead of sending the files to Delhi, they can be disposed of faster at the local level.

Increased powers of officers: Now claims up to Rs 50 lakh are easy According to the new rules, the financial sanction limits have been increased more than double. Additional Director (Zonal Head) will now be able to directly approve medical claims up to Rs 15 lakh, earlier the limit was only Rs 7 lakh. At the same time, the CGHS Director will have the power to approve bills up to Rs 25 lakh and the Additional Secretary and Director General will have the power to approve bills up to Rs 50 lakh. Now only exceptional cases above Rs 50 lakh will be sent to the Health Ministry and the Finance Department, which will completely eliminate delays in the process.

Relief even in emergency and non-panel hospitals The government has also given great relief to those patients who have to undergo treatment in non-panel hospitals due to compulsion or emergency. The Additional Director will now be authorized to pass bills in such situations. Apart from this, new treatments or implants whose rates are not fixed in the CGHS list will now be able to be approved quickly by local authorities as per their jurisdiction. However, the basis of payment will remain the fixed rates of CGHS and the actual need of treatment.

Arogya Setu 2.0: ‘single stop’ solution to health services Along with this relief, a big step has also been taken towards digitalizing health services. Union Health Minister JP Nadda has launched ‘Arogya Setu 2.0’ app. The app will now act as a ‘single window’ to keep medical records safe, book OPD appointments online at government hospitals, call an ambulance and avail benefits of the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Now the beneficiaries will not need to wander through different apps for different services, making health services just a click away.