New Delhi: Did you know that you can withdraw money from your Provident Fund to meet any medical emergency?
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) had stated last month that its members can withdraw funds of up to Rs 1 lakh from their PF balance immediately for medical emergency and hospitalization for life-threatening diseases, including COVID-19.
Earlier, medical advances could be withdrawn on the basis of estimate provided by the hospital. But EPFO modified that in case of life-threatening illnesses.
“It’s imperative to get the patient immediately admitted in hospital on emergency to save his/her life and it is not possible to get the estimate from hospital in such serious situations,” EPFO said, adding that a lumpsum medical advance of up to Rs 1 lakh can be granted for withdrawal without the need of an estimate from the hospital or any documentation.
Medical advances can only be claimed by employees under CS(MA) rules and covered by Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).
The facility can be availed by patients admitted in a government or Public Sector Unit (PSU) or CGHS-empanelled hospital. If the patient is being treated in a private hospital, the case will be assessed by competent authority of EPFO to decide if the medical advance can be released.
An employee has to submit medical bills within 45 days from date of discharge from the hospital.
How to get medical advance from EPFO
* Go to the official website of EPFO at epfindia.gov.in
* Enter your UAN, password, and captcha details to log in to your account.
* Navigate to the ‘Online Services’ tab, and click on ‘Clam (Form-31, 19,10C & 10D)’ option.
* A new page will open, where one needs to verify their bank account information that is linked to the UAN. All the terms and conditions must be read and accepted.
* After this, click on ‘Proceed for Online Claim’, and select ‘Medical emergency’ from the withdrawal applying options.
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