Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) has crossed the three crore mark for hospital admissions.
Hospital admissions of 3.23 crores have been made till date and claim amount of Rs. 36,500 crore have been disbursed with more than 18 crore cards generated. Since its implementation in 2018, treatment worth Rs 21,584 crore has been administered to over 3 crore beneficiaries under the scheme. The scheme has treated beneficiaries across India by providing them tertiary and secondary medical care under the insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh.
AB PM-JAY, India’s biggest healthcare insurance scheme has become synonymous with the healthcare revolution in the country with ongoing operations in 33 states/ UTs. With a beneficiary base of 54 crores, the scheme has been steadily scaling operations across the nation through a cohesive network of over 27,000 public and private hospitals.
AB-PMJAY was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 23, 2018 under the aegis of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to cater to the need of quality healthcare being equally available to all sections of the society. While having touched its first beneficiary milestone with the completion of 1 crore hospital admissions on May 20, 2020 – 20 months after the commencement of the scheme, the 2 crore mark was touched on August 18, 2021.
The scheme’s aim is to fulfil the dream of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by increasing its viability across the country, spreading awareness, card generation and making quality healthcare accessible to the last mile user. With the current beneficiary base of 54 crores, AB PM-JAY is committed to providing medical benefits to more beneficiaries every day.
The scheme has also emerged as one of the most egalitarian schemes of the country with over 49 per cent of all beneficiaries being women who are availing treatment.
A recent study on ‘Gender’ under AB PM-JAY from October 2019 to September 2021 reveals that female utilization of AB PM-JAY services stood at 46.7% of the total utilization. States like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Sikkim observe higher female utilization under AB PM-JAY than male for the stipulated period of time.
Kamalaben Ganeshbai Kumbhar, is a 45-year-old female beneficiary from Gujarat who was suffering from a potentially fatal heart condition which involves a blockage in the opening of the ‘Mitral Valve’ of the heart, thus forcing the blood to flow backwards. Her condition though two years old had disabled her from extensive physical exercise and had rendered her incapable of managing her everyday life.
Ganeshbai Kumbhar (49), her husband, who is a small farmer had been running from pillar to post for his wife’s treatment, but was not able to achieve the necessary medical help. The couple have four children and were not able to afford the critical surgery that required lakhs of rupees.
“I was hopeless after trying so hard. My condition felt incurable. My husband doesn’t even have land of his own. He does farming on someone else’s land. We are poor people. But AB PM-JAY saved my life,” said Kamalaben Kumbhar, who underwent the ‘Cardio Thoracic Vascular Surgery’ in one of the AB PM-JAY empanelled hospitals. The couple had their Ayushman Card made last year as part of the card generation drive organised for the whole village with the involvement of the ‘Gram Panchayat’.
“Many people in our village got their cards made. And we have also told about this health scheme to so many other people,” added Kamalaben Kumbhar. The procedure cost of Kamalaben’s surgery is Rs 1,42,975.
Initiatives under AB PM-JAY
Under the PMJAY, more than 26,000 hospitals have been established across India to make sure that medical facilities are provided to the rural as well as urban areas. There is a renewed focus on beneficiary identification and hospital utilisation. The NHA is in the process of launching the ‘Aapke Dwar Ayushman’ campaign which is a grassroot campaign for beneficiary identification and card generation.
It has made technological changes to the IT platform to liberalise the process and ensure fast-track Ayushman Card generation. NHA’s new ‘Open BIS’ platform for self or assisted verification will allow beneficiaries to generate Ayushman Cards, subject to necessary verification, in a hassle-free manner.
The Authority will extend full financial assistance to States / Union Territories for issuing co-branded Ayushman cards to all eligible beneficiaries. This will lead to wider distribution of Ayushman Cards and thereby increase the awareness of the scheme.
