The All India State Pensioners’ Federation has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce a uniform health policy on the lines of Ayushman Bharat to cater to the medical issues faced by pensioners.
In a memorandum, the federation said most of the pensioners depend on their monthly pension and cannot meet medical expenses when they are admitted to private hospitals. Best medical care wherever available should be provided to pensioners irrespective of the State they belong to. Social security and social insurance were enlisted under item 23 of the concurrent list and right to health was inherent to life with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Though the State governments formulated different health schemes for pensioners and their dependents, some of the governments were unable to pay their dues to the empaneled hospitals and they were even not admitting pensioners. Keeping this in view, the Centre should formulate a comprehensive health insurance scheme for pensioners providing free hospitalisation including ICU charges and room rent as well as post hospitalisation expenses, the federation said.
