SCB staff to get cashless insurance

The 15-year-old fight for cashless hospitalisation has finally been won by the Employees of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB), thus paving the way for the rest of the 60-odd Cantonments across India to follow suit soon. The Defence Ministry has agreed to extend the cashless insurance scheme for over 650 employees of all cadres in SCB. A. Bhaskar Reddy, Director, Defence Estates, Southern Command, Pune, has sent a letter to SCB to this effect. The scheme will be implemented as a pilot project for three to four years. The efficacy of the scheme will be examined and accordingly a decision would be taken on whether it could be extended to other cantonments as well.

Cashless insurance would be a huge relief, especially for class IV employees, who constitute a big chunk of the total staff.

“Until now, medical reimbursement was the only option for employees. One needed to pay the entire medical bill in a hospital and then apply for reimbursement (which used to be a maximum of 50 to 60 per cent depending upon the ailment). Over 500 employees in SCB belong to class IV category and it was impossible for them to pay medical bills if admitted in private hospitals. We have been fighting for cashless health scheme for the last 15 years. Now an employee or their family members can get admitted under cashless scheme without any payment worries,” A. Mahender, president of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board Employees Union said.