Kolkata, Sept. 21 -- Family members of West Bengal government employees who exceed the income ceiling or lose dependency status and become ineligible for subsidised treatment under the West Bengal Health Scheme (WBHS) will be able to avail treatment at government rates in empanelled hospitals subject to conditions.
Such hospitals will not be allowed to charge beyond government-specified rates. However, beneficiaries will have to bear the treatment cost as they are not entitled to WBHS benefits.
Earlier, sons and daughters of government employees or retired employees covered under WBHS could avail cashless treatment benefits at empanelled hospitals, subject to conditions and age restrictions. Sons could avail the facilities until they turned 25 or started earning, while daughters could use them until marriage.
Ahead of Durga Puja, the state government has increased the limit for cashless inpatient treatment at listed hospitals under WBHS from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for state government employees and pensioners.
The Finance Department's medical cell issued a notification. The revised Rs 5 lakh limit will apply to patients admitted to listed hospitals on or after October 1, 2026. The notification said the limit was increased following the recent revision of permissible treatment rates under WBHS.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.