CGHS Directorate pulled up by Public Accounts Committee for not revising drug procurement policy

The Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), headed by Congress leader K.C. Venugopal, pulled up the Directorate of the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) for ignoring repeated recommendations by the panel to take various steps to improve its services, including periodically revising its drug procurement policy.

Sources said Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava told the panel that the government was in the process of revising the rate list for various treatments, adjusting to the current rate of inflation. Several empanelled hospitals have pulled out of the scheme due to the low rates sanctioned by the CGHS for various medical procedures.

The scheme was started in 1954 with the objective of providing comprehensive medical care to Central government employees, both serving and pensioners, their dependent family members, and other categories of CGHS cardholders as notified by the government.

The PAC was reviewing the 2022 performance audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the subject ‘Procurement and Supply of Drugs in CGHS’. The report had pointed out that the Ministry had not ensured the drug formulary was periodically revised, and as a result, the CGHS could not buy new drugs.

Tenders for rate contracts for drugs listed in the formulary were not processed in an efficient and timely manner by the Medical Stores Organisation. In absence of rates for drugs, the CGHS could not procure drugs listed in the formulary. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had recommended the drug formulary be revised on a half-yearly basis.

The PAC’s Chairperson, Mr. Venugopal, asked why the Union Health Ministry had ignored repeated directions from the panel on the issue. At Tuesday’s meeting, members raised concerns over the supply of outdated drugs to beneficiaries, delays in the settlement of claims, and the absence of coverage for the latest medical procedures under the scheme. It was pointed out that the drug formulary was revised after a seven year gap in 2022. And ignoring the CAG’s recommendation, it had not been revisited in the last three years.

The members also raised concerns that the drugs required for time critical treatments, including cancer, are often not available. The drugs supplied by the CGHS to beneficiaries were often past the expiration date. Parliamentarians, who are themselves enrolled with the CGHS, also flagged the unusual delays in clearing reimbursement claims. “While the official stance is that the claims are settled within 60 days, we have often seen ourselves that they take as long as three to five years in some cases,” a member said.

The Union Health Secretary, according to sources, also said that the government was in the process of upgrading the policies governing medical procedures, widening them in both scope and scale.