Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) was launched on 01 April 2003 as a flagship scheme of the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence which aims to provide quality medicare to Ex-Servicemen and their dependents through a network of ECHS Polyclinics, Armed Forces medical facilities and private empanelled/Govt hospitals spread across the country. In the state of Mizoram the ECHS facilities are provided by Station Headquarters, Aizawl with the two ECHS POLYCLINICS namely ECHS POLYCLINIC, AIZAWL and ECHS POLYCLINIC, LUNGLEI.
To enable cashless and capless treatment at the State Referral Hospital/Zoram Medical College to the Ex-Servicemen and their dependents, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed on 14th September 2023, between Ministry of Defence and State Referral Hospital/Zoram Medical College at Aizawl, Mizoram.
This landmark memorandum was signed, on behalf of Headquarters Eastern Command, Headquarters 101 Area, Shillong and Central Organization ECHS by Colonel Senthil Kumar S, Director, Regional Centre, ECHS Guwahati with Dr. John Zohmingthanga, Director & Medical Superintendent, State Referral Hospital/Zoram Medical College.
Once this memorandum is signed, State Referral Hospital/Zoram Medical College will be empanelled under ECHS, allowing patients, including Assam Rifles Pensioners, who have been referred from the ECHS Polyclinic, Aizawl and Lunglei to receive multi-specialty and super-specialty care there. Both ECHS Polyclinics Aizawl and Lunglei operate under the aegis of Station Headquarters, Aizawl and endeavours to provide holistic medical cover to the ESMs of Mizoram, under the initiative of Headquarters Eastern Command and Headquarters 101 Area, Shillong.This memorandum will also make it easier for veterans and their families to obtain the multispecialty/superspecialty/Secondary and Tertiary medical coverage they need without having to travel to Guwahati or Kolkata, which has been challenging in the last three years.
Source: Indian Army
Report- Pratyusha Mukherjee