India News | Army Inks Pact with Assam Govt for Treatment of Ex-servicemen at Medical Colleges

Guwahati, Jan 5 (PTI) The Indian Army on Thursday signed an agreement with the Assam government to offer Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) at eight medical college and hospitals in the state.

Defence spokesperson Lt Col Mahender Rawat said the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare has approved the empanelment of government medical colleges in Assam with the ECHS.

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"Memorandum of Agreements were signed between the Indian Army authorities and eight government medical colleges and hospitals," he said in a statement.

The ECHS benefits will be offered at the medical college and hospitals in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Silchar, Jorhat, Barpeta, Tezpur, Diphu and North Lakhimpur.

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This understanding will facilitate the cashless and capless treatment of almost 1.12 lakh beneficiaries. Unlike other schemes, this scheme covers all types of diseases.

The agreements were inked in presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command Lt Gen RP Kalita, state ministers, senior Army and civil officials.

The Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF), which is an Assam government and TATA Trust initiative, has also been empanelled with ECHS, Lt Col Rawat said.

The ten units of ACCF located at the medical colleges will provide cashless and capless service in Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rates to ex-servicemen and their dependents of Assam and other states of the Northeast.

"This will be a major relief to veterans and their families as this will remove the hardship of cancer patients travelling outside the state for treatment," the official said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)