Ministry of Labour and Employment has taken a number of initiatives for bringing transparency and accountability through reforms and enforcement of Labour Laws in 2019. Based on data received from The Ministry of Labour and Employment, below are major steps taken by ESIC in 2019.
Rate Reduction in ESI Contribution
The ESI Corporation has reduced rates of ESI Contribution being paid by employees and employers covered under ESI Scheme from 6.5 % (Employees’ share 1.75% & Employers’ share 4.75%) to 4% (Employees’ share 0.75% & Employers’ share 3.25%) with effect from 01.07.2019. This reduction of contribution rates will ensure financial relief to employers and employees. However, the healthcare benefits under the ESI scheme will remain the same. The decision will benefit 36 million workers and 1.28 million employers.
Health Passbook for ESI Beneficiaries
ESIC has introduced a Health Passbook for ESI Beneficiaries in Phased manner. This Health Passbook serves as a user-friendly mechanism for beneficiary identification, recording of clinical finding and consultation advice by the Insurance Medical Practitioner(s).
The salient feature of Health Passbook is as under:
- Separate Passbook with Unique Health ID, QR code and the photograph of Insured Persons and his/her family members.
- Serves for beneficiaries identification & recording of clinical findings and consultation advice by ESI Doctors/IMPs.
- Passbook would be issued by the ESIC Branch Offices in a phased manner.
Insured Persons of ESIC from newly implemented area to get treatment under Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY):
ESIC has decided to provide cashless medical care services to entitled Insured Persons and Beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat package rates in the newly implemented area of 102 designated Districts through PMJAY empanelled hospitals up to a maximum limit of Rs.5.00 lakh, beyond which individual case will be channelled to ESIC for seeking approval for further expenditure on ESI beneficiaries. Similarly, PMJAY beneficiaries may get in-house medical treatment services as per Ayushman Bharat approved packages from underutilized ESI Hospitals.
ESIC – Chinta Se Mukti app launched
The Corporation has also launched the ESIC “Chinta Se Mukti” app available on the UMANG platform to facilitate stakeholders to view contribution details, eligibility for benefits, claim status, etc. in their Mobile Handset.
Extending medical benefits to Non-IPs
The Corporation has extended its medical services to Non-Insured Persons (General Public) in its under-utilized hospitals. Now, Non-IPs can avail medical services from underutilized ESIC Hospital, at Alwar (Rajasthan), Bihta (Bihar), Gulbarga (Karnataka), Bareilly Varanasi, Sarojani Nagar (Lucknow) & Jajmau (Kanpur) on a nominal charge of Rs.10/- for OPD Consultation and at 25% of CGHS package rates for IPD.
Unified Website
In order to maintain the corporate identity of ESIC and to have a repository of common information, and also to have uniformity in design and content, a Unified Website www.esic.nic.in has been launched. All the Regional Offices/Sub-Regional Offices, ESIC Hospitals and ESIC Medical Institutions & Hospitals have been made part of this single unified website.
ESIC- contributing excellence in sports
ESIC had recruited 135 meritorious sportspersons including Shri Pramod Bhagat, ace para-shuttler from all across India during the year 2016. Shri Pramod Bhagat, an ESIC employee at Regional Office, Bhubaneswar has received prestigious Arjuna Award for the current year on 29th August 2019. Shri Pramod Bhagat has many tournaments to his credit including five international titles in six tournaments he participated. He won a gold medal in the men’s singles SL3 category at the BWF Para-Badminton World Championships in Basel. Bhagat said he is now focusing to clinch a gold medal in the Olympics.
Strengthening of Medical Infrastructure
In order to provide in-house quality medical services in the major ESIC Hospitals, of late, ESIC has procured state-of-the-art medical equipment viz. MRI, CT Scan etc. for ICU, Secondary & Super Speciality care.
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