• The government aims to deliver 10 lakh Ayushman Bharat cards every day under its flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said. 

• The minister inaugurated the ‘Arogya Manthan 2022’ to celebrate four years of the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and one year of the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

• As many as 3.95 crore admissions in hospitals amounting to Rs 45,294 crore have been done so far under it. 

• Over 19 crore people have been provided Ayushman Bharat cards so far under the scheme spanning its coverage in 33 states and Union Territories.

• More than 24 crore ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) numbers have been generated under the ABDM.

• Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has crossed the landmark of one crore digitally-linked health records, with over 27 lakh records linked in a day.

• Under the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, about Rs 100 crore will be spent in every district to strengthen the health infrastructure in the country. 

• Over 28,300 hospitals, of which 46 per cent are private, have been empanelled so far under the scheme. Of the total 3.8 crore hospital admissions under the scheme, 46 per cent were in government-run hospitals. 

• Around 52 per cent of the total admissions were male. While 27 per cent of the total patients admitted to hospitals were between 45 and 59 years old, 24 per cent were in the age group of 3-44 years. 

Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)

• Over the past few decades there has been improvement in various health indicators of lndia. However, the out-of-pocket expenditure, which pushes millions of people into poverty every year. 

• In order to address this and provide health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to poor and vulnerable section of the population, Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) was launched, subsuming the erstwhile Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, on September 23, 2018. 

• The scheme aims to improve affordability, accessibility, and quality of care for the poor and vulnerable section of the population.

• Around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore individuals) are entitled under AB-PMJAY for cashless and paperless access to services at the point of service — empanelled hospitals. 

• This health cover includes three days of pre-hospitalisation and 15 days of post hospitalisation expenses. There is no cap on family size, age or gender to ensure that all members of the beneficiary families are covered. Also, benefits are portable across the country.

• The funding of the scheme is shared between central and state governments. The ratio of central share to state share for all states except northeast states and Himalayan states and Union Territories with legislature, is 60:40. For northeast states and Himalayan states, the ratio is 90:10. In the case of Union Territories without legislatures, the central contribution of premium is 100 per cent.

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

• In September 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

• It was originally called the National Digital Health Mission and launched on August 15, 2020 as a pilot in six Union Territories.

• Based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives of the government, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is creating a seamless online platform through the provision of a wide-range of data, information and infrastructure services, duly leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems while ensuring the security, confidentiality and privacy of health-related personal information.

• Citizens will only be a click away from accessing health care facilities.

• Under the mission, citizens will get a digital health ID.

• Health is a state subject, but the National Health Mission will work closely with the states on Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.

• The digital health ecosystem created by Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission supports continuity of care across primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare in a seamless manner. 

• It aids availability of health care services particularly in remote and rural areas through technology interventions like telemedicine.

• Since its launch in September 2021, the ABDM has achieved significant growth with over 24 crore ABHA numbers (earlier known as Health ID), 1.50 lakh health facilities registered in the Health Facility Registry (HFR) and over 80,00 healthcare professionals under the Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR).

• For digitisation of old health records, individuals can use the ABHA app or any other personal health record (PHR) app to scan and save their records. By linking these digital records to their ABHA, individuals will be able to connect with professionals and facilities digitally and get quality and affordable health services irrespective of geographic distance.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (2022)

With reference to Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, consider the following statements:

1. Private and public hospitals must adopt it.

2. As it aims to achieve universal health coverage, every citizen of India should be part of it ultimately.

3. It has seamless portability across the country.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

(a) 1 and 2 only   (b) 3 only   (c) 1 and 3 only   (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: b.

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