Punjab ministers, MLAs not to get full medical reimbursement

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, December 15

The state government will resort to the old practice of giving medical reimbursement to its ministers and MLAs on the prescribed government rates, rather than on actual bills.

A decision was taken today at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. This will put to an end the past practice of some government functionaries claiming actual bills in violation of the Punjab State Legislature Offices, Ministers and Members (Medical Facilities) Act.

Prescribed rates

• MLAs will get medical reimbursement on a par with the CGHS rates
• Ministers will get the rates of the PGI and AIIMS

Sources say that the bills of some former ministers and other functionaries in the previous Congress government were pending for clearance. They were demanding reimbursement for actual bills paid by them or their dependent family members, including those who had sought treatment for Covid.

For seeking medical reimbursement, legislators, ministers and other functionaries, who were accorded the Cabinet rank, must be treated at the hospitals empanelled by the state government. It is learnt that nearly 200 hospitals have been empanelled. Interestingly, a top functionary in the Akali-BJP government got himself treated at a hospital, which was not empanelled. However, to facilitate his reimbursement, the subsequent Congress government empanelled the hospital that treated him.

The General Administration Department, bogged down by reminders to settle past claims, decided to raise the matter with the Chief Minister. It has now been decided that while the MLAs will get medical reimbursement on a par with the CGHS rates, the ministers will get it on a par with the rates of the PGI and AIIMS. The reimbursement for the ministers will be made by the Director, Health Services, while that for the MLAs by the Secretariat.

In the past, a former CM and his spouse had claimed over Rs 3.60 crore as medical reimbursement. Between 2010 and 2020, then MLAs and former MLAs had claimed Rs 16.89 crore as reimbursement.