Medical claims worth Rs 56 lakh yet to be settled, says RTI info

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 30

Reimbursement of medical claims amounting to Rs 56,08,228 has been lying pending for Bathinda district since 2013-14 to March 31, 2016, under the Central and state governments’ Employees State Insurance Scheme.

Approaching both Centre and the state government for the immediate release of the claims, the data of which he collected through the RTI Act, social activist Sadhu Ram Kusla has written letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. He has also demanded that officials who caused the delay in the release of the money to settle the claims must also be brought to book.

Kusla said despite the fact that the PM had taken note of the delay in settlement of medical claims and had directed the Secretary, Labour and Employment Department, GoI, to look into the matter, officials forwarded the matter to the Senior State Medical Commissioner, Chandigarh, who then forwarded it to dispensaries in Bathinda.

The social worker further stated that there were four dispensaries in the district. Of these, while dispensary No. 1 is yet to settle claims worth Rs 13,15,066 for 2015-16, claims worth Rs 85,815 have been pending with the dispensary No. 2 for 2014-15 and worth Rs 2,05,341 for 2015-16. Dispensary No. 3 is yet to clear claims to the tune of Rs 6,46,566 for 2014-15 and Rs 1,54,726 for 2015-16.

The dispensary located in Lehra Mohabbat is yet to dispense medical claims under the scheme to the tune of Rs 3,65,544 for 2013-14, Rs 9,30,009 for 2014-15 and Rs 19,05,161 for 2015-16.

Expressing grief over the state of affairs, Kusla said under the ESI Scheme those working at factories, construction sites and other trades for meagre salaries are covered and the state government is responsible for clearing their medical claims but the state government has turned a blind eye towards the welfare of those belonging to poor financial background.

Holding the state government, Health and Family Welfare Department and senior State Medical Commissioner responsible for the tardy pace of settling the claims, the social activist said these were the figures for only Bathinda district and if one were to collect similar data for the entire district, the results would be shocking.