Problems of golden card holders will be resolved soon in Uttarakhand, Health Minister took cognizance, know what he said

The employees, pensioners and their dependents of the state are not able to avail the benefits of health facilities through the Golden Card. The main reason for this is non-payment to the hospitals. Due to which the hospitals have withdrawn from providing treatment. Due to which now the Health Department has decided to fix the problems of the Golden Card holders. For this, Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat has given instructions to the departmental officials.

Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat reviewed the Golden Card Scheme in the Secretariat on Tuesday. During the review meeting, the minister directed the officials to provide full benefits of the scheme to all the beneficiaries of the Golden Card Scheme. For this, he asked the officials to prepare a concrete plan, so that the Golden Card holders continue to get the benefits of the scheme. He directed the departmental officials to prepare a proposal by taking suggestions from the stakeholders and make it available to the government. So that it can be brought in the cabinet meeting.

During the meeting, the officials said that under the scheme, there has been a huge increase in the cost of treatment as compared to the contribution coming from the Golden Card holders. In such a situation, the scheme is not being operated properly due to gap funding. In the financial year 2024-25, a total contribution of Rs 150 crore was deposited by government and autonomous personnel and pensioners, while Rs 335 crore has been spent on the treatment of beneficiaries under the scheme. Due to which the hospitals have not been paid. In such a situation, for the smooth operation of the scheme, the departmental officials had made many suggestions including master package, increase in contribution, curbing the tendency of hospitals to take unfair financial advantage, incentives to service providers, distribution of medicines from medical centers.

Apart from this, during the review meeting, the minister also directed for early recruitment to all the posts under the technical cadre in the health department. He said that the state government has provided medical equipment in most of the hospitals across the state. In such a situation, it is necessary to appoint technicians for their operation and maintenance and lab technicians in pathology and blood banks of all hospitals. For this, instructions were given to start the recruitment process by creating posts of Lab Technician, OT Technician, Dialysis Technician, ECG Technician, X-Ray Technician, Optometrist in every hospital as per IPHS standards.