BENGALURU: The new financial year 2015-2016 could bring good news to the government employees with a possible rise in their take-home salary. The government intends to free the millions of employees from a heavy 6.5 percent deduction in the salary for the state-run healthcare program and allow them to choose an insurance firm of their choice instead.
In this direction the government has called upon a meeting of Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to approve amendments to this effect in ESI Act of 1948, as reported by Economic Times. These amendments if ratified could throw open a huge opportunity to the country’s $2billion health insurance business.
Also, the Finance Minister in his maiden Union Budget Speech declared the government’s intention to allow employees to exercise their personal choice in health insurance. A senior government official stated that, "we have proposed the addition of  two new sections to the law that gives employees a one-time option to opt for a health insurance product regulated by the IRDA. Employers would have to submit proof of such alternate coverage." Complementing this, another declaration also allows the employees to return to their ESI fund, which is the state-run fund in case they are not happy with services of insurance firms. This is to safeguard the employees from their employers to opt either ESI or health insurance product.
The present ESIC law mandates a whopping 4.75 percent of the employee’s salary, which could go up to 15, 000 per month along with 1.75 percent premium payment. However, ESIC provides several additional benefits to the employees and their families, which may or may not be covered under by the firms.
Trade Unions express their disapproval over the proposal saying that any amendments to the law are usually debated by our board first and that it is the first time that the government is bringing amendments to the table.

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