PCB puts ‘inflated’ bills of staff on hold

Officials said scrutiny of nearly 50 claims was being undertaken by the accounts branch of the cantonment board and claims have been stopped as the employees’ bills were running out of budget. The matter was also discussed at the hospital committee of the cantonment board recently where the members took an exception that there was no restriction on the monthly expenses that the board can bear. Some of the medical expense claims are as much as Rs 18,000 a month.

The committee decided that to prevent employees from making out of budget and exagerrated claims,the services of a medical insurance company be procured to which the board will pay premium on behalf of the employees.

Nominated member of the cantonment board Col S V Shrotri,who chaired the health committee meeting,said the board was looking for an insurance company to prevent the employees from submitting inflated bills. He said through the insurance company the expenses could be curtailed.

PCB accountant B D Kulkarni said the claims of the employees of last two months have been put on hold. “The claims by some of the employees are running out of budget,” he said.

To check the inflation of bills,the board has decided that the employees should be made to get the medicines and the treatment preferably at the cantonment general hospital and referals to the private hospitals be undertaken only when the facilities were lacking in the cantonment hospital.

While the hospital committee has decided to pay the premium of employees,some of them were resisting the switch over to medical insurance. “Some of the Class-IV employees and those from the engineering wing of the board have particularly resisted our proposal of hiring the medical insurance company,” said PCB member Sangita Pawar.

At the hospital committee meeting,it was also decided that in case the medical facilities were not available at the cantonment hospital the employees get treated at only recognised health institutes like Ruby Hall and KEM Hospital till the board manages to find an insurance company. “We are already consulting some of the medical insurance companies,” said Shrortri.