Aizawl, March 14: The Mizoram government today faced scathing criticism from the Opposition during Question Hour for selecting ICICI-Lombard as health insurer for its employees.

Andrew Lalherliana of the Zoram Nationalist Party, asking the first question of the session, wanted to know whether the government had floated a tender when it entered into an agreement with the company and what were its criteria for selecting it.

Chief minister Zoramthanga, who looks after the finance portfolio, denied floating tenders which he said would have violated the Insurance Regulatory Development Agency’s rules which entails that insurance companies are to sell themselves through their policies and not through sealed tenders.

Zoramthanga explained that of the several offers made by different companies, ICICI-Lombard and Bajaj Allianz were shorlisted. Despite the latter offering higher reimbursements for hospital charges, ICICI-Lombard was selected as it did not demand any contribution from the state employees, he said.

“The employees, when asked for their opinion, made their preference known by opposing payment for their health insurance cover. They, instead, wanted a scheme where they wouldn’t be forced to pay from their pockets,” he told the House.

“We used to spend nearly Rs 35 crore to Rs 40 crore to foot the hospital bills of our employees. ICICI-Lombard asked for Rs 17 crore a year without demanding any deposit from the employees which Bajaj Allianz didn’t. The deciding factor here is that the employees need not have to spend their money and the government stands a chance to save nearly half of its expenditure on healthcare for its employees.”

When the Opposition drew the government’s attention to the reason for dissatisfaction among the employees, that ICICI-Lombard did not have persons with decision-making powers in the state, he assured the House that the company was in the process of eliminating the problem soon.

When asked why the government was not reverting to old system of paying for its employees’ healthcare, Zoramthanga said, “This is only the first year where an outside agency has been entrusted with the job. We will scrutinise their efficiency and if not satisfied, the government may have to revert to the old system.”