97 new ESI hospitals set up in last 10 years

New Delhi, Dec 16: Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) provides comprehensive medical care in the form of medical attendance, treatment, drugs and dressings, specialist consultation and hospitalization to Insured Persons and their families through network of 165 ESI hospitals and 1590 dispensaries across the country.

ESIC also set up new ESI hospitals and dispensaries across the country. ESIC has approved 97 new ESI hospitals across the country during last ten years.

Besides, tie-up arrangements have also been made with public/private hospitals for providing cashless in-patient medical services to ESI beneficiaries, in case, ESI hospital or in-house medical services in a particular hospital are unavailable.

The major steps taken by Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to upgrade and improve the facilities provided to its beneficiaries are as under:

i) ESIC has collaborated with Ayushmaan Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PMJAY) to provide secondary and tertiary care medical services to ESI beneficiaries through PMJAY empanelled hospitals in the country at places where ESI medical services are not adequately available.

ii) Rates of benefits have been enhanced for Permanent Disablement Benefit (PDB) / Dependents’ Benefits (DB) Beneficiaries.

iii) A new scheme has been approved to cater medical care [including Super Specialty Treatment (SST)] for superannuated beneficiaries who have contributed in ESIC but went out of coverage before superannuation.

iv) Online module has been launched for updation / editing the particulars of Insured Persons (IPs) and their family details.

v) Aadhar based authentication of Insured Persons & their family members on voluntary basis has been adopted for providing social security benefits, including medical and cash benefits to beneficiaries.

vi) For providing hassle-free services to Insured Persons (IPs)/Insured Women (IW), an online portal/facility has been started for submission of cash benefit claim under ESI scheme.

This information was given by Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Shobha Karandlaje in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.