CGHS Change: Currently, the government provides healthcare facilities to central government employees, pensioners and their families under CGHS. But now the government is planning to bring a new healthcare scheme soon. Let’s know what it is?
8th Pay Commission Update: If you are also a government employee or there is a government employee in your family, then this news is of your use. The government has announced the formation of a new pay commission in January. The new commission will tell how much change is needed in the salary and pension of central government employees and pensioners according to the economic condition of the country. Most people believe that the job of the pay commission is only to tell how much increase should be there in the salary of the employees, which is based on a fixed method.
Apart from salary hike, the commission also reviews other things
Let us tell you that the job of the Pay Commission is not just to inform about the salary hike. The commission also has to review different types of allowances, facilities and other things. After this, the commission advises what changes are necessary for the benefit of the employees. One such change that has been given attention for the last several years is the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). Central government employees and their dependents come under CGHS, which provides them complete medical care and related facilities.
What is CGHS?
CGHS is a healthcare scheme of the Government of India, which provides consultation, treatment, tests and medicines at affordable rates to central government employees, pensioners and their dependents. This is a kind of complete medical care, which is given to employees and pensioners by the government.
Will the new pay commission recommend a new healthcare scheme?
The previous three pay commissions had recommended starting a new healthcare scheme for central government employees and pensioners. Despite the government’s desire, this scheme has not been implemented yet. The previous committees recommended a new health insurance scheme keeping in mind that the reach of CGHS is very limited. Its facility is not available everywhere. This is the reason why the earlier pay commissions felt that there is a need for a healthcare scheme that is complete and can be easily used. Let’s know what the previous pay commissions said about this?
What was the recommendation of the Sixth and Seventh Pay Commissions?
The Sixth Pay Commission had recommended that an alternative healthcare scheme should be started for central government employees and pensioners. In this, employees can join as per their wish by making a fixed contribution. The commission had also recommended that this scheme should be made mandatory for new employees joining the job in future. Similarly, the Seventh Pay Commission had clearly said that health insurance is a good option to provide better medical security to all employees, pensioners and their families for a long time. The Pay Commission had recommended the implementation of the healthcare scheme.
What is the government’s plan now?
A report published in Financial Express claimed that in January 2025, there were reports that the Health Ministry could replace CGHS with an insurance based scheme. The name of this scheme can be Central Government Employees and Pensioners Health Insurance Scheme (CGEPHIS). The scheme can be implemented through insurance companies registered with the insurance regulator IRDAI. However, no official confirmation has been made by the government regarding this yet.
