Aizawl, March 25 The Mizoram government has restructured healthcare benefits for pensioners under the Mizoram Universal Healthcare Scheme (MUCHS) 2.0 to reduce specific medical expenses and ensure greater enrollment of retired employees, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Finance Commissioner Ramchuana announced the restructured benefits during a press conference here on Wednesday, citing a significant disparity between the contributions made by pensioners and the actual expenditure on their medical treatments as the primary reason for the policy shift.
He revealed that while the previous iteration (MUCHS 1.0) was designed with "generous provisions" for retired personnel, the financial sustainability of the model had become untenable.
According to the commissioner, the healthcare costs for pensioners have surged to Rs 26.84 crore under MUCHS 1.0, representing the highest average expenditure per patient across all beneficiary categories.
In contrast, the total pool of contributions collected from pensioners between April 2025 and February 2026 stood at only Rs 9.33 crore, he said.
Ramchuana said that a favourable scheme was designed for pensioners under MUCHS 1.0, and it was an optional scheme categorized as A and B.
Under category A, pensioners contributed Rs 1,000 per month to receive cashless treatment or medical coverage up to Rs 12 lakh a year, including entitlement to private cabins.
Category B beneficiaries contributed Rs 500 per month for coverage up to Rs 5 lakh, including semi-private ward entitlement and travel allowances for patients, he said.
However, enrollment of pensioners was low despite the good offers, he said.
"Despite the high-quality benefits offered, enrollment remained lower than anticipated. Out of approximately 37,000 eligible pensioners, only 10,400 opted into the scheme during 2025-2026," Ramchuana said.
Following a governing body meeting of the Mizoram State Healthcare Society last month, the government decided to detach the pensioner category from the general contributory beneficiary status, he said.
Under the restructured scheme, the fixed medical allowance (FMA) of pensioners will serve as the baseline subscription fee, and no additional monthly contributions will be required to be paid by them, he said.
In Mizoram, retired employees receive Rs 1,000 per month as FMA.
Ramchuana said that the new scheme (pensioner benefits) will cover only pensioners and their spouses, and they will no longer be allowed to include every family member listed on their ration cards, including their children, as was under MUHCS 1.0.
"It was fundamentally inconsistent to allow pensioners to cover their entire extended families via ration cards while active government employees were restricted in their family coverage," the Commissioner said, labelling the previous arrangement as "incorrect."
He said that the new scheme is optional and not mandatory, as any willing pensioners can opt out of it.
However, Ramchuana clarified that no pensioners will be allowed to enrol under MUHCS 2.0 through other modes unless they surrender their MFA as a contribution fee.
"The simultaneous enjoyment of FMA and MUCHS benefits constitutes a 'dual benefit' that is not viable," Ramchuana said, adding that if pensioners choose to enrol through alternative modes, they will likely be required to surrender their FMA entirely.
The MUHCS was launched in March last year and became operational on April 1.
The second phase, or MUHCS 2.0, was launched by Chief Minister Lalduhoma on March 16 to become operational on April 1.
The scheme provides up to Rs 5 lakh in annual coverage for cashless treatment at government facilities, as well as empanelled private and church-run hospitals for general beneficiaries.
Government employees, including contractual and muster-roll, pay a monthly contribution ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 1,500 depending on their pay scales to avail unlimited health cover.
Beneficiaries or golden card holders under the Centre's AB PM-JAY scheme need not pay registration fees under MUHCS.
According to officials, more than 2.88 lakh families, including those under the AB PM-JAY scheme (Golden card holders), have enrolled as beneficiaries in the first phase during April 2025 to March 2026.