An overview of the Employees and Journalists Health Scheme

You are aware that living and medical expenses are rising daily. After the coronavirus pandemic, it has become extremely difficult for individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to cope with escalating medical costs.To aid such individuals and help manage their finances, the Government of Telangana has introduced the JHS Telangana Scheme. In this blog, we'll explore how the JHS Telangana Scheme aims to alleviate financial burdens and provide essential healthcare support to those in need.

• The Employees and Journalists Health Scheme provides free health insurance coverage to specified individuals in Telangana.
• Eligible beneficiaries can get cashless medical treatments at empanelled hospitals across the State.
• Coverage is allowed for inpatient and outpatient treatments, follow-up costs, and hospital stays.
• You can register for JHS Telangana online and get your health card. Present this card at empanelled hospitals for cashless treatments.

The Employee and Journalist Health Scheme (EJHS) by the Government of Telangana is an initiative to provide financial assistance to individuals facing health-related issues. The scheme targets a specific section as different individuals face different health issues.The scheme's beneficiaries are selected based on certain socio-economic, demographic, or geographical areas. The JHS Telangana Scheme is an outstanding effort put forward by the Telangana Government to help the impoverished sections of society fund their medical expenses.

Features of JHS Telangana

JHS Telangana is ahealth-related scheme and comprises the following features:

• EJHS is a state-run health scheme that caters to the financial needs of a certain section of society.
• JHS Telangana aims to provide cashless hospitalisation facilities to state government employees, pensioners, journalists, and their dependent family members.
• The Aarogyasri Health Care Trust has been tasked with implementing the EJHS under the guidance of the Telangana Government.
• JHS Telangana is an attempt made by the government to replace the existing medical reimbursement facility and implement cashless hospitalisation.
• The eligible persons can use this facility through any of the empanelled hospitals.
• The EJHS also offers post-treatment care and treatment for serious ailments.

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The biggest benefit of the JHS scheme is that it considers all aspects of the treatment process. This consists of five different treatment facilities, namely:

• In-patient treatment
• Follow-up services
• Outpatient treatment for chronic diseases
• Hospital stay provisions
• Financial coverage

The JHS Telangana scheme is highly beneficial for individuals belonging to the lower strata of the State. Some of the scheme benefits are:

In-Patient Treatments

• The scheme offers free treatment for all in-patients and outpatient individuals for a pre-specified list of therapies.
• You can avail yourself of cashless service for up to 10 days to purchase medicines post-discharge.
• EJHS offers coverage on any undergoing treatment for a specified list of diseases up to 30 days after discharge.

Follow-up Services

• Fixed packages are available for all patients who require follow-up services for up to 1 year post-discharge.
• Follow-up services include financial aid to buy drugs, avail consultation, and investigation for an overall curative experience.

Out-Patient Treatment for Chronic Diseases

• EJHS Telangana also provides financial aid for the treatment of serious ailments or long-term diseases.
• You can avail of this facility only at the empanelled hospitals.

Hospital Stay Provisions

This defines the type of ward to be allocated in case of hospitalisation, taking into consideration the pay scales of the employees.

• Employees falling in the pay grades from I-IV fall under Slab-A of the EJHS and are eligible to stay in semi-private wards.
• Employees falling in the pay grades from V-XVII fall under Slab-B of the EJHS and are eligible to stay in semi-private wards.
• Employees falling in the pay grades from XVIII-XXXII fall under Slab-C of the EJHS and are entitled to stay in private wards.

Financial Coverage

• The implementation cost of JHS Telangana is borne by the Telangana Government fully.
• You need not make any contribution towards your medical expenses.
• The state government has not fixed any upper limit on the amount of financial coverage to be provided to the beneficiaries.
• EJHS lists various therapies and covers complete treatment for all the listed therapies.

The following persons are not eligible to avail of the scheme:

• Individuals covered under other insurance schemes like the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).
• Employees of the Aarogya Sahayatha of Prohibition and Excise Department, ESIS employees, Railways and RTC employees, and the Aarogya Bhadratha of the Police Department.
• Low-ranking officers like the advocate general, state counsels, prosecutors, government leaders, and public prosecutors.
• AIS officers and AIS pensioners.
• Casual as well as daily-wage workers.
• All independent children and biological parents.

The following persons are eligible to avail of the scheme:

• Current serving employees, including all the existing state government employees and provincial employees of local government bodies.
• Retired employees include all service pensioners, family pensioners with no dependents, and re-employed pensioners from government services.

By family, EJHS means,

• All the dependent parents (adoptive or biological), but not both.
• Only one legally married spouse, valid for service pensioners/employees.
• Wholly dependent children, whether adoptive, step or biological.
• Family pensioner’s dependents.

By dependents, EJHS means,

• Employee’s parents who look upon their children for livelihood.
• Daughters of the state employees who are unmarried, unemployed, deserted, divorced, or widowed.
• Unemployed sons of the state employees who are of age 25 years and below.
• Disabled/handicapped children who are incapable of fending for themselves.

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The registration process is different for different individuals based on their employment status. Let's understand it.

Current employees

The government specifies the registration process for current employees. The process is as follows:

• The DDO or the Drawing and Disbursing Officer will provide your data to the Finance department through a Comprehensive Financial Management System (CFMS).
• This information is then passed on to the Aarogyasri Health Care Trust.
• After receiving the required data, the trust employees will issue a health card for you and your dependents.
• You can download your employee health card by clicking this link: https://www.ehf.telangana.gov.in/EHS/loginAction.do?actionFlag=checkLogin .

Journalists

The JHS Telangana registration process for state journalists is carried out by the District Public Relations Officer (DPRO). If you are a state journalist, you can register yourself under the JHS by following the steps outlined below:

• You must apply for the JHS scheme with the District Public Relations Officer (DPRO).
• The Information and Public Relations Officer (IPRO) verifies the information you provide.
• Once the verification process is complete, your health card is issued and is available for download at https://jhs.telangana.gov.in/login/newLoginTest.jsp
• You can visit the aforesaid website and get your health card printed.

Pensioner

As a pensioner/retired employee, you have to follow the below-mentioned steps to register yourself for the EJHS to avail of benefits from the scheme:

• Visit the registered webpage available at https://ehf.telangana.gov.in/HomePage/
• Click on the ‘Pensioner’s’ tab on the top right-hand corner of the page.
• Having done this, you need to log in with the help of the username and password provided to you. You can contact the Sub Treasury Officer (STO) or the Assistant Program Officer (ATO) if you do not have the password. Alternatively, you can also contact the EJHS toll-free number -104.
• Post that, you need to open the enrolment form and fill up the required details such as department head, STO/APO and district name, and upload the supporting documents as mentioned.
• Then, add the names of all the dependent members and corresponding beneficiaries.
• After that, you have to click on the 'Save' button and subsequently on the ‘Submit Application’ button.
• You will receive an SMS on your mobile number containing details of your enrolment ID.
• Download and print the form.
• Once the form is printed, you must sign it and scan and upload the signed form.
• Click on the ‘Submit Application for Approval’ button. You will then receive a confirmation message on your number.
• Wait for approval from the STO/APO. Once you receive the approval, you can download and use the health card.

You must submit the below-mentioned list of documents to enroll under the scheme:

• A scanned copy of your Aadhar card and your dependent family members.
• A scanned photograph of size 45mm x 35mm of self and all other dependent family members. The photograph must be ICAO compliant and should not exceed 200kb.
• Disability certificates, if any, of self and the dependent members.
• An uploaded copy of your spouse’s employee/pensioner ID, if the spouse is a staff of the state government or is a service pensioner.
• Scanned copies of birth certificates of all the dependent family members of ages less than 5 years.

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You can download your pensioner’s health card through the following steps:

• Log in to the EJHS web page and click on the ‘sign-in’ tab on the top right corner of the page.
• Enter your username and password. You can get your username and password by dialling 104.
• Finally, click the ‘Download Health Card’ option on the screen and print/ laminate the document. This document can be used by you for various verification purposes.
• Alternatively, you can get a temporary health card at a minimal cost of ₹25 per card from any government-appointed Mee Seva Centre.

You need to follow these steps to undergo treatment at the empanelled hospitals under the EJHS :

• You need to visit one of the nearby network hospitals to avail treatment under the scheme.
• The network hospital (NWH) by Aaroghyamitra will then register you as a patient.
• If you have a permanent health card, the NWH (networked hospital) will enable your biometric verification and send it to the hospital for preliminary verification. However, your biometric verification will be sent for diagnosis even if you do not hold a permanent health card.
• Based on the diagnosis report, you will be treated as an inpatient or an outpatient.
• The inpatient registration process will be initiated if you are advised of hospitalisation.
• An E- pre-authorisation will be sent to the concerned team, post which the required treatment procedure will be initiated by the NWH.
• Post the treatment, you will be discharged from that hospital and advised follow-up services if deemed necessary.
• You need not worry about arranging for claims. It is the duty of the empanelled hospitals to follow up with the trust and claim reimbursement from them.

You can add beneficiaries to your existing EJHS by the following means:

• Visit the official webpage of EJHS and click on the ‘Sign in’ button at the top right corner of the page.
• Enter your username and password and click ‘Initiate New/Rejected Beneficiaries’ under the ‘Registration’ tab.
• A new page titled ‘Beneficiaries Worklist’ will appear on the screen. You have to select ‘Add New Beneficiary'.
• You then have to fill out the beneficiary details along with the supporting documents, i.e., if the beneficiary is less than 5 years old, you have to submit a copy of their birth certificate along with their photographs. But if the beneficiary is more than 5 years of age, then you have to submit a copy of their Aadhaar Card along with their photographs.
• You can then choose to either reset or click on ‘Save’ to add.
• Once you click ‘Save’, a pop-up window appears on the screen, flashing that the beneficiary has been successfully added. You have to click on ‘OK’.
• Having done that, you will be taken to a new page where you can edit or remove the details of the recently added beneficiary.
• If you do not wish to make any changes and have checked the details of the new beneficiary, you have to click on the ‘Submit’ button. Doing so will ensure your beneficiary has been successfully added to your EJHS Telangana.

Also Read: Health Insurance for Senior Citizens

JHS Telangana facilitates affordable health insurance coverage for eligible members of the state. You can also enjoy coverage under the scheme if you fulfil the eligibility criteria. But if you don't, you can buy a private health insurance policy.An independent health plan can give you a wider and more customised scope of coverage. You can also choose a suitable sum insured and enjoy coverage against medical emergencies. So, buy a health insurance policy and protect your finances against unforeseen events.