Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, on December 14, 2022, approved the policy of full reimbursement of Hospital Stoppage Rolls (HSR) charged for treatment taken in Military/Armed Forces Hospitals by the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) beneficiaries. Several representations regarding reimbursement of HSR have been received by Ministry of Defence as there is an anomaly between Military Hospital and ECHS for medical treatment by the beneficiaries.
As per the existing policy under ECHS, HSR and any other charges expended for treatment in military hospitals are paid in full by the ECHS member and are not reimbursable. These hospitals provide free treatment with limitation to only ex-servicemen, his/her spouse, children below 25 years of age and parents. The dependent brothers/sisters, unmarried sisters and disabled children were declared ineligible for treatment and have to pay HSR charges. However, under ECHS, a primary beneficiary and his/her dependents are eligible to get cashless treatment.
Following the Raksha Mantri’s approval, the existing policy has been amended and now the HSR and any other charges expended for treatment in military hospitals will be paid in full by the ECHS beneficiary, which will be reimbursed. This is a big move towards providing a dignified treatment to the ex-servicemen and their dependents at military hospitals.