Several lakh workers and their dependents who were covered under the Employees State Insurance (ESI) scheme and receiving cashless treatment are in great distress after the empanelled private and government hospitals decided not to renew contracts in Kannur and Kasaragod districts.
There were eight empanelled hospitals in the two districts, and they were offering cashless treatment under the ESI scheme, said P. Dharman, a member of the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU). But all have discontinued the service, and, as a result, patients who require advanced treatment are forced to depend on empanelled hospitals in other districts, he added.
“Except in Kannur and Kasaragod, all other districts have empanelled hospitals. Some private empanelled hospitals have branches in Kannur. But they are not willing to implement the ESI scheme in the two districts despite orders from National and State Human Rights commissions,” he said.
