CCL spends Rs 230 crore on medical reimbursement of employees, with this amount the company could have opened its own big hospital.

Manoj Singh, Ranchi:

Central Coal Fields Limited (CCL), a subsidiary of Coal India, has spent about Rs 230 crore on medical reimbursement of its employees in the last four years. This amount was the highest (Rs 88.52 crore) in the financial year 2022-23. The company also makes reimbursement for treatment in its own or other empaneled hospitals. The amount of medicines and other equipment is reimbursed to the employees when they undergo treatment in the company’s hospital. This happens when medicine is not available during treatment. Those whose treatment is not possible within the company is called outside reimbursement.

Every year an average of 2500 employees from CCL are sent to hospitals outside the company for treatment. Experts say that CCL’s new super specialty hospital could have been opened for Rs 230 crores. CCL patients could be treated in their own hospital. CCL also has its own hospitals. But their situation is not better.

Expenditure on reimbursement doubled in just four years:

In CCL, the reimbursement expenditure on treatment has doubled in the last four years. In 2019-20, Rs 46.72 crore was spent as reimbursement on the treatment of employees inside and outside the company. This expenditure was close to Rs 88.52 crore last year. In 2019-20, approximately Rs 22.66 crore was spent on hospital treatment within the company. At the same time, about Rs 24 crore was given to other hospitals for the treatment of company employees.

Maximum number of personnel referred in 2022:

CCL referred the maximum number of employees to hospitals outside the company in 2022. In 2021, 2923 personnel were referred. At the same time, in 2022, 3013 employees were referred by the company. So far in 2023, 2580 personnel have been referred to other hospitals for treatment. At the same time, the number of patients undergoing treatment in the company’s hospital in 2022 remained less during the last three years. More than 64 thousand employees were treated in the company’s hospitals in 2021, about 53 thousand in 2023 and about 46 thousand in 2022.

Company’s expenses on reimbursement

Year Amount (in crore)

2019-20 46.72

2020-21 39.15

2021-22 56.34

2022-23 88.52

Employees face difficulty in reimbursement

Employees in CCL hospital face problems in reimbursement. The wife of a CCL employee had got treatment in a hospital in the capital without any information. In an emergency, the operation was performed without any notice by a doctor retired from the company. There was a bill of about Rs 60 thousand on this. Even after applying, reimbursement was not received saying that this operation could have been done in Gandhinagar hospital.