Good news for central government employees as Centre brings THIS major change in CGHS, to be implemented from…

New Delhi: The Modi government is all set to provide a major relief to central government employees and pensioners. After the hike in Dearness Allowance (DA), the Centre has now made a major reform under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). The government, on October 3, announced revised package rates for around 2,000 medical procedures. It is important to note that these new rates will come into effect from October 13, 2025. This revision is being considered the biggest reform in the last 15 years.

A major complaint of central government employees and pensioners was that CGHS-empanelled hospitals often did not provide cashless treatment. According to the reports, both employees and the hospitals were facing issues and disparities related to payments due to the old rates. With the implementation of the new rates, improvements are expected in both treatment costs and the payment process. This will not only provide better healthcare services to government employees and pensioners but also increase the participation of private hospitals, thereby strengthening the overall healthcare infrastructure.

Here are some of they key details:

• In the old rules, the patients had to pay a large amount upfront for treatment and then wait for months to get reimbursement.
• The hospitals argued that the package rates fixed by the government were outdated and too low.
• In addition, they often did not receive payments on time. Because of this, hospitals frequently hesitated to offer cashless services to beneficiaries.
• In August 2025, the GENC (National Confederation of Central Government Employees) submitted a memorandum to the government on this issue.
• The government has now fixed new package rates for about 2,000 medical procedures.
• These rates are based on the city category (Tier-I, Tier-II, Tier-III) and the quality of the hospital (such as NABH accreditation).
• In Tier-II cities, package rates will be 19 percent lower than the base rate.
• In Tier-III cities, rates will be 20 percent lower than the base rate.

NABH-accredited hospitals will offer services at the base rate, while non-NABH hospitals will get 15% lower rates. Super-specialty hospitals with more than 200 beds will receive 15% higher rates.