The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), on Tuesday, took steps, such as relaxing contributory conditions for insured women to avail sickness benefit and decision to set up more hospitals, for improving delivery of services for insured persons under its health insurance scheme.

"The Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), during its 184th meeting held on February 22, 2021, under the chairmanship of Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Independent Charge)...has taken several significant decisions to improve its service delivery mechanism and to strengthen the medical infrastructure benefiting its insured workers," the labour ministry said in a statement.

The ESIC on Monday decided to give relaxation in contributory conditions to avail sickness benefits to the insured women availing maternity benefits.

After the enhancement in duration of maternity benefit to 26 weeks from 12 earlier, in some cases insured women were not eligible to avail sickness benefit in the corresponding benefit period after availing maternity benefit. This is because the mandatory contributory conditions of minimum 78 days were not met being the insured women under receipt of maternity benefit and leave.

In such cases, it has been now decided that insured women will be qualified to claim sickness benefit in the corresponding benefit period if the contribution in her respect were paid or payable for not less than half the number of days available for working in such shorter contribution period, it said.

The relaxation will be effective from January 20, 2017, the date from which the enhanced duration of maternity benefit is effective.

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