india

Updated: Sep 01, 2019 21:48 IST

The Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) that offers subsidized treatment to current and retired government employees in empanelled hospitals, will be expanded to 100 cities by 2022, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday.

The health minister was speaking during the inauguration ceremony of the state-of-the-art CGHS Bhawan in south Delhi’s RK Puram area.

“The CGHS services which started in 1954 from Gol Market in Delhi expanded to only 25 cities till 2014. However, in the last five years under the NDA government they have been extended to as many as 71 cities. We are aggressively witnessing reforms in every area of the health sector,” Harsh Vardhan said during the launch.

Under the CGHS scheme, about 1200 hospitals and 200 diagnostic centres are empanelled, with about 500 wellness centres associated with it.

He also launched the new scheme of an annual health check-up of the CGHS beneficiaries who are pensioners of the age of 75 years and above.

The CGHS services have undergone a remarkable change over the years. While the rules have been simplified, several people-friendly facilities have also been added.

“The scheme has the potential of becoming one of the best in the world,” Harsh Vardhan said.

The scheme has close to 3.5 million beneficiaries, with about 1.2 million cardholders, across the country.