
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has provided significant relief to its new employees regarding the MEDISEP health insurance scheme. In a circular dated October 9, 2025, the Finance Department has exempted employees who joined service or had their MEDISEP profiles verified after May 19, 2025, from paying the premium and arrears for the scheme’s first phase. Any amount already deducted from their salaries for this period will be refunded.
The clarification was necessary due to the extension of MEDISEP’s first phase, which officially ended on June 30, 2025. The scheme was temporarily extended until October 31, 2025, to avoid a break in coverage while procedures for the second phase were underway. During this extended period, it was not practical to transfer new employee data to the insurance company and issue them new MEDISEP cards. As a result, these employees were not officially included in the scheme’s benefits for this duration.
The circular, signed by Additional Secretary V. Ajayakumar, directs that these new employees will be formally included only in the second phase of MEDISEP. The government acknowledged that due to the processing of salaries for the extended months and “technical difficulties” in the SPARK software, premiums and arrears may have been inadvertently deducted from the salaries of these employees. In such cases, affected staff can submit an application to receive a full refund, following the prescribed guidelines.
The order also instructs all Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) to accurately update and verify the data of these employees to ensure their smooth inclusion in the upcoming second phase of the scheme.