Respected Sh Jyotiraditya Scindia Ji,

Pranam

We, retired Air India employees, wish to bring your attention to your letter dated August 28, 2023, in response to the letter from Honourable Shri R.P. Natarajan, Member of Parliament, regarding the resolution of health-related issues faced by our colleagues.

Upon reading the aforementioned letter, a sense of frustration and resentment has gripped all the employees. It appears that you may not be fully informed about the actual situation on the ground. However, numerous letters, complaints, and petitions have been sent to your Ministry and other Ministries of the Government of India, particularly the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, on this matter by individuals and various employee organizations.

The plight of retired Air India employees has been extensively described in our petition addressed to Honourable Shri Amit Shah Ji on September 23. This petition has also been forwarded to your office. We have full confidence that your Ministry will diligently consider the points mentioned in this petition and seek solutions to these issues.

All retired employees welcome the decision made by the Empowered Group of Ministers, under which retired Air India employees were to be provided facilities through CGHS equivalent to the health scheme that was prevalent in Air India before privatization.

Your statement is entirely accurate that the facility of OPD/Medicines was to be provided to eligible beneficiaries through Wellness Centres under CGHS, and the order to provide the facility of OPD Referral and IPD by the Hospitals related to CGHS was issued in letters from the Directorate of CGHS on May 29, 2023, and March 15, 2023.

Regarding OPD and Medicines, this facility is indeed being provided to Air India retirees through Wellness Centres, similar to any other retired government employee, for which we are grateful to the Government.

However, it's important to note that Wellness Centres are not available in all cities, whereas Air India retirees are scattered all over India. In fact, the Air India Health Scheme was available at all stations where Air India employees were posted. This problem is more pronounced in South India, where employees sometimes have to travel distances of 50/100 kilometres, which proves to be very expensive, leading to most employees being unable to utilize the facility. Therefore, the conclusion that health services are being provided to employees on par with the earlier Air India Scheme is far from accurate. We request that alternative arrangements be considered in cities where Wellness Centres are not present or are located at a distance of 20/30 kilometres from each other.

Regarding the issue of the facility of IPD and OPD referral provided through CGHS, we wish to bring to your attention that the implementation of this Scheme here is subpar, which is a matter of concern and the root cause of all the problems and our sufferings.

Please note that CGHS provides all beneficiaries with IPD medical services through a well-functioning system, which is efficient and effective. In the case of Air India retirees, the responsibility for this scheme has been entrusted to AIAHL, and the responsibility for IPD has been given to UTIITSL instead of NHA.

UTIITSL has proven to be entirely incapable of fulfilling its duties. Additionally, hospitals lack confidence in UTIITSL, and they are owed large sums of money. Their portal does not align with CGHS's system, and they often find themselves in error-prone situations. Even the behaviour of their officials is not cooperative.

On the contrary, NHA is known for its flawless operating system, which is why some time ago, the responsibility for CGHS was shifted from UTIITSL to NHA for government employees. For Air India retirees, the responsibility for this scheme has been given to AIAHL, which is an institution established for a limited duration and for specific purposes, such as the integration of Air India's assets, engineering services, ground handling, Alliance Air, and others. In this institution, there are no permanent employees, nor is there a permanent head. All officials are engaged for a limited period and for specific purposes. Consequently, the priority of CGHS work is quite low. Officials do not possess the authority or the necessary skills required for this task. In contrast, CGHS has a strong, nationwide presence and full authority, enabling it to enforce its orders on hospitals or even revoke their empanelment.

This is the reason why, despite CGHS's order of March 13, 2023, Air India retirees have not yet received IPD benefits from wide network of CGHS empanelled Hospitals across India, even though officials at AIAHL are making every possible effort from their side.

There are several reasons for hospitals rejecting the IPD facility, as elaborated in our appeal letter to Honourable Shri Amit Shah Ji. One of the major reasons is that Air India retirees are issued cards in the yellow category, akin to Autonomous Pensioners. Autonomous cardholders are not eligible for IPD benefits, although Air India retirees are not pensioners and have a 100% government-owned organization affiliation, making it inappropriate to classify them in the Autonomous category.

In light of these circumstances, CGHS, on March 15, 2023, allowed Air India retirees for IPD benefits because the government had considered this and was committed to providing IPD facilities equivalent to the proficient healthcare services of the previous AI Health Scheme for retirees. Unfortunately, neither AIAHL nor the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which oversees CGHS, is effectively implementing this provision.

Considering the current situation claim of the Govt extending medical benefits through CGHS, matching with previous Air India Health Scheme's benefits is a matter worth exploring. The then Air India Management used to oversee the Scheme, always striving to remove obstacles. Today, the future of Air India retirees hangs in the balance, with no hearings or alternative solutions in sight. Everyone is knocking on the doors of individual Hospitals, asking them to start IPD facilities. However, the responsibility for implementing CGHS orders should lie squarely with CGHS itself. We find ourselves in a very distressing situation. Our limited income and the ailments associated with old age leave us with no option. Hospitals that were previously on the Air India panel have stopped our treatment, even though these Hospitals are empanelled with CGHS.

We respectfully request that if the previous Air India Health Plan cannot be implemented, at least initiate an expeditious process in coordination with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to provide IPD facilities for hapless Air India retirees. This issue has become a matter of life and death for us.

Thank you.

All Air India retired employees