Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Capt. Brijesh Chowta urged the Defence Ministry to formulate a permanent system for the disposal of claims of hospitals registered under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) within a time frame.

Raising the issue under Rule 377 in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Capt. Chowta said the mechanism was necessary to ensure quality healthcare for retired soldiers and their families without any hindrance. He said, “As a soldier and now as an MP, it is my duty to raise my voice in the House about the health security of defence retirees.” The ECHS depends on a network of registered hospitals. However, the reimbursement claims submitted by these hospitals were not being disposed of in time and were being kept pending.

Also, unnecessary information was being asked without any specific reasons. Due to this, the hospitals were facing financial difficulties. Many of them have limited treatment to retired defence personnel while some were withdrawing from the scheme, he regretted.

Capt. Chowta said elderly beneficiaries were suffering after travelling to distant towns for treatment and facing delays in medical services. At times, they were forced to seek treatment at their own expense. Therefore, it was necessary to address the issue on a priority basis, he added.

He urged the Defence Ministry to fix a clear timeline for the initial verification of claims, medical audit, submission of objections, hospital clarification, final approval, and payment. In addition, the practice of repeatedly raising objections to the same claim in stages should be abandoned. An electronic dashboard system should be introduced to ensure transparency in the process.

Capt. Chowta also demanded the appointment of a regional in-charge officer to dispose of claims that exceeded the stipulated timeline. The Ministry should regularly publish details of the amounts due to hospitals, and there should be a system to issue a warning before hospitals stop their services. It should be ensured that cashless treatment for ex-servicemen is not affected for any reason under the pretext of an internal audit.

Nine hospitals

Responding to an unstarred question by Capt. Chowta last week, the Defence Ministry had said nine hospitals were empanelled in Dakshina Kannada district to provide healthcare services for ECHS beneficiaries.

The total ECHS beneficiary base in Dakshina Kannada was 5,980, including dependants. The ECHS Polyclinic, Mangaluru, is functioning as a Type ‘D’ polyclinic with an authorised strength of 15, filled through contractual personnel under the laid-down policy. The polyclinic has a daily average sick report of 63.

Published - August 04, 2026 07:43 pm IST