Free of cost medical care & 20% bed dedicated for ESIC members

Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) will provide free of cost medical care for its insured persons and their family members in its 47 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals.

ESIC, in a recent statement, said, “Presently 21 ESIC hospitals, run directly by ESIC, with 3,676 COVID isolation beds, 229 ICU beds and 163 ventilator beds and 26 ESI Scheme hospitals run by state governments having 2,023 beds are functioning as COVID-19 dedicated hospitals.”

Out of 151 hospitals, 103 ESI hospitals are run by states and the remaining by the corporations itself. As of September 2020, ESIC had 2.94 crore insured persons.

ESIC also said that instructions have been issued to each of the ESIC hospital to function with a minimum of 20% of its bed capacity as dedicated COVID beds for ESI IPs, beneficiaries, staff and pensioners.

ESI beneficiaries may also seek emergency or non-emergency medical treatment from tie-up hospital directly without referral letter. In case the insured persons or their family members being infected with COVID-19 take treatment in any private institution, the reimbursement of expenditure may be claimed.