Ex Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) – A Complete Guide

The Ex Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) is a social welfare scheme designed to provide Medicare to Ex-servicemen and their dependents. This scheme was launched in the year 2003 by The Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare and currently has 427 Polyclinics and medical treatment centers and hospitals across the nation.

The scheme is completely financed by The Government of India, and is currently headed by MAJ General NR Indurkar – Managing Director of ECHS.

Let us talk about the most important benefits and features of the scheme. Further, we will discuss in detail about some of the other most important aspects of the scheme, such as:

• What is ECHS?
• Benefits and features of ECHS
• How to apply for ECHS
• ECHS eligibility criteria
• How to login to your ECHS account
• ECHS card status
• How to submit a claim
• How to check your ECHS claim status
• List of network hospitals and polyclinics
• Contact details

What is ECHS?

The Government along with the Armed Forces realized that the current systems of state sponsored Medicare were not enough for our nation’s soldiers, hence they introduced The Ex Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS)

Under this scheme, eligible personal will be entitled towards quality medical treatment and medical coverage to the retirees of the Indian Armed Forces. The ECHS not only covers Ex-servicemen but it also extends its coverage to the person/family that is in receipt of thee Ex-servicemen’s pension (after his/her death)

Benefits and features of ECHS

The following are the core benefits and features of ECHS:

• The ECHS Scheme is a comprehensive medical care scheme covering all of the major disorders and diseases, including cancer, neurological conditions, cardiac conditions, renal disorders, joint replacement surgeries and many more. Further, there is no cap on treatment costs.
• The is a fully financed scheme by The Government of India.
• Scheme beneficiaries can avail medical treatment in over 427 Polyclinics and medical treatment centers and hospitals across the country.
• OPD treatment is also covered under this scheme, and is completely free of cost.
• Although treatment is completely free of charge and borne by the Government, the beneficiaries of the ECHS Scheme will need to pay a one-time contribution fee (mentioned below) at the time of enrolling under this scheme.

How to apply for ECHS

As mentioned before, all Ex-servicemen are eligible to enroll under this scheme. Let us now understand the steps involved for applying towards this scheme:

Offline process

Step 1) Collect the ECHS application form and fill it

Step 2) Make the one-time contribution fee

Step 3) You will need to furnish an affidavit (if needed)

Step 4) Collect your ECHS Smart Card

Online process

You can also register under this scheme through the official ECHS website. Let us guide you through the steps.

Step 1) Visit the official website

Step 2) Navigate to the ‘useful links’ tab and click on ‘ECHS Smart Card Online Application.’

Step 3) Fill-up the registration form

You will now need to populate the requested details within the form.

Step 4) Your ECHS account will now be registered

Once filled and submitted, your ECHS account will now be registered

Step 5) You will now be required to submit all relevant documents either physically or online through the portal

You can now login to your ECHS portal with your username and password and upload the requested documents to the portal.

Step 6) Documents will now be vetted

Once all documents are vetted, you can download your ECHS Card through the portal.

ECHS eligibility criteria

The following are eligible towards ECHS:

• All Ex-servicemen of the Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy, and Air Force) that are receiving pension or disability pension, as well as their dependants.
• Members of the military Nursing Service (MNS)
• Whole time officers (WTOs) of The National Cadet Corps (NCC)
• Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs)

To learn about the entire eligibility requirements kindly visit the following link and scroll down to the ‘Eligibility section.’ 

How to login to your ECHS account

Step 1) Visit the official ECHS website

Step 2) Navigate to the ‘useful links’ tab and click on ‘ECHS Smart Card Online Application.’

Step 3) Click on ‘Click to Login’

Step 4) Enter your login details and press on ‘Login’

You can also reach out to their customer support team through the following contact details below:

How to check your ECHS claim status

You can easily check your ECHS claim status by visiting their ‘Online Claim Status Checker’ page. Once on the page, kindly enter the following details:

• Service number
• Claim ID
• Captcha code
• And press ‘Submit’

ECHS Card status

Once you have registered under the scheme, you can login to your ECHS account and download your ECHS card. You can also check your card status through the portal after logging-in.

ECHS Android and IOS App

With a view to improve the user experience, various features and benefits of The ECHS scheme can be accessed through The Official ECHS Android and IOS Apps respectively. Kindly download the apps on your phone and access the portal through it.

How to submit a claim

Your claim can be submitted online through their claim submission page on The ECHS portal.

Ensure that you have below mentioned documents at hand before submitting you claim:

List of network hospitals and polyclinics

It is important that you are well versed with the nearest hospitals and polyclinics affiliated under this scheme. You can get a complete list of all hospitals here.

Contact details

You can locate your nearest nearest ECHS Regional center here. Lastly, you can reach out to the major scheme officials here.