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What are the medical benefits under ESI?
The Employees’ State Insurance Scheme provides full medical care in the form of medical attendance, treatment, drugs and injections, specialist consultation and hospitalisation to insured persons and also to members of their families where the facility for specialist consultation, hospitalisation has been extended to the families.
For the families, this benefit has been
divided into two categories as under:
FULL MEDICAL CARE
This consists of hospitalisation facilities and includes specialist services, drugs and dressings and diets as required for in-patients.
EXPANDED MEDICAL CARE
This consists of consultation with the specialists and supply of special medicines and drugs as may be prescribed by them in addition to out-patient care. This also includes facilities for special laboratory tests and X-ray examinations.
Apart from the curative services provided through hospitals and dispensaries, the corporation also provides the following facilities including family welfare services.
IMMUNISATION
The corporation has embarked upon a massive programme of immunisation of young children of insured persons. Under this programme, preventive inoculation and vaccines are given against diseases like diphtheria, pertusis, polio, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella, tuberculosis etc.
FAMILY WELFARE SERVICES
Along with the immunisation programme, the corporation has been undertaking provision of family welfare services to the beneficiaries of the scheme. The corporation has organised these services in 180 centres besides reserving 330 beds in hospitals for undertaking tubectomy operations. So far, 8,28,976 sterilisation operations viz. 1,76,197 vasectomies and 6,52,779 tubectomies have been performed up to 31.3.1999.
The ESI Corporation has also extended additional cash incentive to insured persons to promote acceptance of sterilisation method by providing sickness cash benefit equal to full wage for a period of 7 days for vasectomy and 14 days for
tubectomy.
The period for which cash benefit is admissible is extended beyond the above limits in the event of any complications after family planning operations.
SUPPLY OF SPECIAL AIDS
Insured persons and members of their families are provided artificial limbs, hearing aids, and artificial appliances like spinal supports, cervical collars, walking calipers, crutches, wheelchairs and cardiac pace-makers as a part of medical care under the scheme.
Vinod Kuriakose
(The writer can be contacted at
feedback2vinod@yahoo.co.uk)
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