In order to provide some relief to the people amid the Corona pandemic, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is allowing its members to withdraw up to Rs 1 lakh as medical advance on their investments. This money can be found in case of medical emergency and hospitalization. If you are an EPF subscriber, you can take a medical advance of up to Rs 1 lakh for treatment of any life-threatening illness including COVID-19. You will also not be required to submit the hospitalization cost estimate to the EPF office to withdraw the advance.
How to apply
Visit the official EPFO portal (https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/). Log in to your account by entering your UAN, Password and Captcha details. Then go to the ‘Online Services’ tab and click on ‘Claim (Form-31, 19, 10C and 10D)’ option. On the new page, verify your UAN linked bank account details. Know more about the rest of the process.
Here is the next process
After verifying the bank details, read and accept the terms and conditions of EPFO carefully. Tap on ‘Proceed for Online Claim’ (Proceed to claim online) and select ‘Medical Emergency’ from the option to apply for withdrawal. Keep in mind that only eligible members will be able to see this option. The medical advance amount can either be credited to the employee’s salary account or paid to the hospital concerned on the request of a family member.
These are the important things
The patient should be admitted to Government / Private Sector Unit (PSU) / CGHS empaneled hospital for treatment. In case he has been admitted to a private hospital due to an emergency, the Competent Authority will investigate the matter and only then will the medical advance be given. The employee or any family member will have to submit a request letter mentioning the details of the hospital and the patient. The letter should mention that the estimated cost is not known, thus, medical advance should be given.
After discharge from hospital
An employee has to submit the medical bill within 45 days from the date of discharge. The amount of medical emergency will be adjusted from the final bill of the hospital as per EPF withdrawal rules. Additional advance can also be given as per EPFO withdrawal rules. However, to take such an advance, the treatment will have to be told and even before the patient is discharged from the hospital.
Big announcement recently
A statement from the Labor Ministry said that in order to support its subscribers during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, EPFO has now allowed its members to withdraw the second non-refundable COVID-19 advance amount. The provision of special withdrawal was introduced in March 2020 under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) to meet the financial need of the members during the pandemic.
