CM Revanth Reddy, Telangana Cong chief meet Mallikarjun Kharge
Hyderabad, May 31
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and state Congress president Mahesh Goud on Sunday met AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge here.
The Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and other senior leaders called on Kharge at the Novotel Hotel near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad.
AICC In-charge for Telangana Meenakshi Natarajan was also present during the meeting.
Kharge had stopped en route from New Delhi to Gulbarga in Karnataka.
Chief Minister's Office (CMO) described it as a courtesy call.
According to party sources, the meeting lasted for an hour and a half. Current political developments in the state and government programmes were reportedly discussed during the meeting.
Meanwhile, CMO said in a statement on Sunday that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy will hold a review meeting with officials regarding the implementation of the Employees' Health Scheme, which the government is introducing to ensure health security for employees and pensioners in Telangana.
The review meeting is scheduled on Monday.
This scheme will be implemented through the Employee Health Care Trust. The Trust will comprise eight members -- six representatives from employee associations and two from pensioners' associations, the CMO said.
A state government employee will be appointed as the CEO of this Trust. The formation of this committee is likely to be announced on Monday.
The process of collecting the necessary details for the implementation of this scheme has already commenced. The Finance Department has issued a circular to all government departments, directing them to collect the details of government employees, pensioners, and their family members.
The circular explicitly stated that this data must be uploaded by May 31. Based on these details, the government will take measures to issue digital health cards and provide cashless medical treatment services.
The State Cabinet on February 23 approved the Employees' Health Scheme, which will cover 3.56 lakh employees, 2.88 lakh pensioners, and their dependent family members (a total of 17.07 lakh beneficiaries).
It was announced that treatment will be completely cashless in all government hospitals and 652 empanelled private hospitals. This will cover 1,998 medical procedures.
Employees will contribute 1.5 per cent of basic pay while there will be a matching contribution from the government. The Trust will have an annual outlay of Rs 1,056 crore (Rs 528 crore each by employees and government).
— IANS
Reader Comments
Courtesy call or not, hour and a half is quite long for just chai-pe-charcha! 😄 But seriously, the Employees' Health Scheme is a game-changer. 1.5% contribution from basic pay is reasonable for 1,998 procedures coverage. Let's see how many private hospitals actually honour the cashless promise.
The health trust with employees and pensioners representation is a positive step. But collecting data by May 31 deadline seems tight – hope departments don't rush and make errors. Revanth Reddy should focus on delivery rather than just photo ops with high command. 📸
Finally some concrete policy work! The Employee Health Scheme covering 17 lakh people is impressive. But I'm worried about the Rs 1,056 crore annual outlay – will it be enough for 652 hospitals and 1,998 procedures? Need strong auditing to prevent misuse. Hope the CEO appointment happens on merit, not politics. 🤞
As a retired government employee, I welcome this scheme. Cashless treatment in 652 empanelled hospitals is what we need. But why did Finance Department set May 31 deadline? Many pensioners are not tech-savvy – they need help uploading details. Also, hope the matching contribution from government is actually budgeted properly. 😊
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.