Following his takeover as Chief Executive Officer of the State Health Assurance Society (SHAS), Dr Gavali Parag Harshad conducted a high-level review of the agency’s performance at Toshali Bhawan today.
Functioning under Odisha’s Health & Family Welfare Department, SHAS plays a central role in managing the state’s primary health assurance initiatives.
Reviewing progress metrics, Dr Parag Gavali urged senior officials to step up field inspections to strengthen fraud detection and accelerate grievance redressal. A major priority outlined in the meeting was sensitizing empanelled and non-empanelled facilities to deliver immediate critical care under PM-RAHAT. The scheme grants road accident victims—regardless of economic standing—free treatment up to ₹1.5 lakh for seven days, provided registration occurs within 24 to 48 hours of the accident. Un-empanelled hospitals can also treat victims by accessing the HEM Lite portal, where auto-approvals allow immediate patient admission.
Data presented during the review highlighted Odisha’s national leadership in physical co-branded card distribution under the AB PM-JAY–GJAY umbrella, which covers 3.46 crore beneficiaries. To date, 3.45 lakh cards have been generated online, and 1.79 crore physical cards have been delivered. Card issuance continues at Common Service Centres (CSCs) using Aadhaar-based e-KYC with support from ASHA workers. Eligible individuals without a physical card can still access empanelled facilities using their Ration and Aadhaar cards. Currently, 774 private hospitals in Odisha are empanelled, with efforts underway to accelerate government hospital empanelment.
Odisha continues to outperform other states in pre-authorization processing, treatment claim settlements, and portability claim resolutions, ensuring smooth access for beneficiaries seeking tertiary care outside the state. Over the last 18 months (April 2025 to September 2026), SHAS successfully processed and settled 22,13,702 treatment claims totaling ₹6,081.05 crore.
The meeting was attended by senior leadership, including Joint CEO Sri Ratnakar Sahoo, Joint CEO (Finance) Arupananda Pradhan, Additional Director Dr Rashmi Ranjan Satpathy, Deputy CEO Dr Sambit Behera, alongside representatives from the State Anti-Fraud Unit and Medical Audit Committee.
