Focus: GS II- Government policies and Interventions
Why in News?
The National Health Authority (NHA) under its flagship scheme of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) announced the launch of a revamped Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) mobile application.
About Ayushman Bharat Health Account:
- The ABHA app will be instrumental in helping citizens to create their longitudinal health records.
- The patients can access their health records with the help of their ABHA address in seconds which will empower them in many ways.
- It will enable them to save their health history on a single platform and access or share their health records anytime and anywhere without a worry of losing them.
- This digitization of data exchange will ensure better clinical decision making and continuum of care.
About Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission:
- Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will help connect digital health solutions across the country.
- All Indians will get a digital health ID under this scheme.
- Every citizen’s health record will now be digitally secure.
- The health ID will be used as health account.
- Personal health records can be linked to this account and viewed with the help of a mobile application.
- Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will provide reliable data, leading to better treatment and savings for patients too.
- The National Health Authority (NHA) will be the implementing agency of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)
- Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) is the flagship scheme of the Union government as a part of the Indian government’s National Health Policy.
- AB-PMJAY provides a health cover of up to Rs. 5 lakh a family a year, for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization, to India’s bottom 40% poor and vulnerable population.
- The programme was launched in September, 2018.
- AB-PMJAY is under the aegis of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- The PM Jan Arogya Yojana beneficiaries get an e-card that can be used to avail services at an empanelled hospital, public or private, anywhere in the country, with which they can walk into a hospital and obtain cashless treatment.
- The scheme has certain pre-conditions by which it picks who can avail of the health cover benefit. While in the rural areas the list is mostly categorized on lack of housing, meagre income and other deprivations, the urban list of PMJAY beneficiaries is drawn up on the basis of occupation.
Key Features of AB-PMJAY
- PM-JAY is a health assurance scheme that covers 10.74 crores households across India or approximately 50 crore Indians.
- It provides a cover of 5 lakh per family per year for medical treatment in empanelled hospitals, both public and private.
- It provides cashless and paperless service to its beneficiaries at the point of service, i.e., the hospital.
- E-cards are provided to the eligible beneficiaries based on the deprivation and occupational criteria of Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011).
- There is no restriction on family size, age or gender.
- All previous medical conditions are covered under the scheme.
- It covers 3 days of hospitalisation and 15 days of post hospitalisation, including diagnostic care and expenses on medicines.
- The scheme is portable and a beneficiary can avail medical treatment at any PM-JAY empanelled hospital outside their state and anywhere in the country.
- The Central government has decided to provide free testing and treatment of Coronavirus under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.
