The pensioners of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) are constrained by the delay in getting medical reimbursement for more than two years. They are also facing difficulties in getting regular medical treatments in empanelled private hospitals, as these hospitals are not willing to provide treatment under the Medical Reimbursement Scheme (MRS).
R. Venkatachalam, secretary, All India BSNL Pensioners’ Welfare Association, Tamil Nadu, said the BSNL had more than 30,000 pensioners on its rolls in the State and 1.50 lakh all over the country. A large number of them were suffering from various health issues, including cancer, kidney ailments and cardiac problems needing regular treatment from specialised hospitals.
While the pensioners were provided with MRS facility where they could get treatment in private hospitals and get the medical bills reimbursed, for the past few months, a number of private hospitals had been denying them regular treatments because of delay in clearing the treatment charges for more than a year, he said. In some cases, the pensioners were asked to pay the bills and get them reimbursed. V. Ramarao, a retired staff, said the BSNL failed to pay the monthly medical allowance of ₹1,000 to a large number of pensioners. Since April 2018, it had not been reimbursing the bills, he added.
A senior official of BSNL, Tamil Nadu circle, confirming the financial constraints faced by the company and the delay in the clearing of medical bills, said the pensioners could surrender the company’s medical reimbursement scheme and migrate to Central Government Health Scheme. “But they will have to pay some money upfront,” the official added.