Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: After Chandigarh, the central government has extended the pilot programme to provide cashless treatment facilities to road accident victims in Assam. The central government launched this pilot programme in Chandigarh first.
The Government of India, in line with its commitment to reduce fatalities due to road accidents and the legal mandate under Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, is launching the pilot programme to provide cashless treatment to the victims of road accidents caused by the use of motor vehicles.
The pilot programme, which has been developed under the aegis of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, is aimed at establishing an ecosystem for providing timely medical care to the victims of road accidents, including during the golden hour—the first 60 minutes after an injury when a patient has the best chance of survival if they receive immediate medical care.
According to an office memorandum of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), it, along with the National Health Authority (NHA), has implemented a pilot programme for providing cashless treatment to victims of road accidents in Assam now. This central sector scheme has been approved on September 16, 2024, for the balance period of the 15th Finance Commission Cycle, i.e., a period commencing from October, 2024, to March, 2026, with a financial implication of Rs. 407.20 crore. Some of the features of the scheme are as under: Victims are entitled to cashless treatment up to a maximum of Rs. 1.5 lakh per victim per accident for a maximum period of 7 days from the date of the accident as per health benefits packages for trauma and polytrauma of AB PM-JAY.
It is applicable to all road accidents caused by the use of a motor vehicle on any category of road.
The National Health Authority (NHA) shall implement the scheme, in coordination with police, hospitals, the State Health Agency (SHA), etc., through an IT platform combining the functionalities of the existing Electronic Detailed Accident Report (eDAR) application of MoRTH and the Transaction Management System (TMS) of the NHA.
Claims raised by hospitals for providing treatment to accident victims will be reimbursed from the appropriate accounts under the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund.
Based on the outcome of this pilot programme, the MoRTH will consider the expansion of cashless treatment facilities to the entire country.
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