Summary of this article
CGHS integrates with Bhavishya to simplify pensioner card applications.
Approved pension details will automatically populate the CGHS application.
Retirees can download approved CGHS cards from either portal.
Retiring central government employees will now have an additional option to apply for their Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) pensioner card through the Bhavishya portal.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has integrated the CGHS web portal with the Bhavishya web portal to make the application process paperless and reduce the need to enter the same information multiple times.
According to an office memorandum (OM) issued by the ministry, approved pension-related information available on the Bhavishya portal will be automatically pulled into the CGHS pensioner card application.
What Has Changed For Retiring Central Government Employees
Earlier, retiring employees had to complete pension-related formalities through the Bhavishya portal and separately apply for a CGHS pensioner card, meaning that some of the same details had to be entered again, resulting in additional paperwork and manual verification.
Under the new integrated system, after pension-related details are approved on the Bhavishya portal, they will automatically be transferred to the CGHS application. This is expected to reduce duplicate data entry and manual processing.
The Bhavishya portal allows employees and administrative authorities to track the pension sanction and payment process online.
The new integration is available to retiring central government employees who are eligible for CGHS benefits after retirement.
PAN Card To Be Used As Unique Identifier
The ministry has stated that the Permanent Account Number (PAN) will be used as the unique identifier for real-time validation and data exchange between the CGHS online system and the Bhavishya portal.
This will allow the two systems to validate and exchange relevant information during the CGHS pensioner card application process.
How Will The CGHS Pensioner Card Be Issued
Once the pension forms are verified by the Head of Office, the Pension Payment Order (PPO) will be generated.
The retiring employee can then pay the required CGHS contribution online through the BharatKosh payment gateway. Following the payment, the CGHS pensioner card will be issued.
The approved card can be downloaded from both the CGHS portal and the Bhavishya portal.
The ministry has clarified that the Bhavishya-CGHS integration is an additional option. Retiring employees can continue using the existing online process available through the CGHS portal.
What Is CGHS
The Central Government Health Scheme provides healthcare services to eligible central government employees and pensioners enrolled under the scheme. According to the official CGHS website, around 42 lakh beneficiaries are covered across 80 cities in India.
The scheme provides outpatient treatment and medicines, specialist consultations, treatment at government and empanelled hospitals, diagnostic investigations and cashless treatment at empanelled facilities for pensioners and other identified beneficiaries.
Eligible beneficiaries may also claim reimbursement for treatment taken at government or private hospitals in emergencies or for specific treatment advised by a government specialist.
