Hyderabad, February 23 – The Telangana Cabinet on Monday approved an accident insurance scheme and a cashless health scheme for all government employees and pensioners in the state.
The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, approved a new accident insurance scheme providing full financial security to government employees and pensioners.
Speaking to the media on Monday night, Minister for Information and Public Relations Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said that all serving government employees and pensioners in Telangana will be covered.
No premium will be paid by employees, and there will be no financial burden on the government for the scheme, which will cover 5.19 lakh regular employees and 2.38 lakh pensioners (total 7.57 lakh beneficiaries).
Under the scheme, which will be implemented through banks, ₹1.2 crore compensation will be paid in case of accidental death. For natural death (up to 60 years), ₹10 lakh will be paid in addition to regular benefits.
The Cabinet approved the Cashless Employee Health Scheme (EHS), fulfilling a long-standing demand of employees. The scheme will cover 3.56 lakh employees, 2.88 lakh pensioners, and their dependent family members (total 17.07 lakh beneficiaries).
Treatment will be completely cashless in all government hospitals and 652 empanelled private hospitals. This will cover 1,998 medical procedures.
The Minister said that Digital Health Employee Cards will be issued to the beneficiaries under this scheme, which will be implemented through the Rajiv Aarogyasri Health Care Trust.
Employees will contribute 1.5 percent of their basic pay, while the government will make a matching contribution. The Trust will have an annual budget of ₹1,056 crore (₹528 crore each from employees and the government).
The Cabinet decided to bring reforms in the health sector. As part of this, the Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (TVVP) will be converted into the Directorate of Secondary Health (DSH). The TVVP will move from an autonomous status to a fully-fledged government department to facilitate faster procurement of medicines and surgical supplies. This will lead to improved salary disbursement and better healthcare delivery.
The Cabinet also decided that a special committee, under Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha, will study structural reforms in hospital administration, including separating medical and administrative services.