What are AB PM-JAY and ABHA health cards? Announced

In Madipakkam Chennai recently, a group of five-octysomethings flashed their blue and white government health cards, their faces beaming with hope as they discussed the list of duty hospitals in the areas they hoped to use if necessary. their cards. So will their cards work for cashless treatment, which is what they expect in a private hospital? Not if they have the wrong cards.

An increasing number of residents planning to apply for the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana card are mistakenly applying for the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) card.

So what are these two cards, what is the difference between them and how to apply for the right one?

What is AB-PMJAY?

Central Government on 23 September 2018 launches flagship health insurance programAyushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana or AB PM-JAY. The scheme launched by Prime Minister Modi (earlier called the National Health Protection Scheme) is touted as the largest health assurance scheme in the world, offering insurance cover of ₹ 5 lakh per annum for secondary and tertiary hospitalization to a family in any government hospital or any hospital across the country. One officer is in a private hospital. The program targeted more than 12 crore poor and vulnerable families (about 55 crore beneficiaries), who constitute the bottom 40% of India’s population, according to its website. Some States that already have health insurance plans for their residents have combined their plans with AB PM-JAY.

In September this year, the Center announced that the scheme would now be implemented. expanded to include all senior citizens Age 70 and over, regardless of income. This extended schema is known as: Ayushman Bharat Vay Vandanaand is part of the PM-JAY plan. This was to benefit around 4.5 crore families comprising six crore senior citizens with free health insurance cover of ₹ 5 lakh on a family basis. All senior citizens aged 70 and above are entitled to benefit from this assistance, regardless of their socio-economic status. AB-Vay Vandana beneficiaries receive a separate beneficiary card (orange and white).

What is the registration process for senior citizen cards?

The registration process for the scheme has been facilitated by the National Health Authority (NHA) where senior citizens can get the Ayushman Bharat Vay Vandana card online from the official portal (beneficiary.nha.gov.in) or through NHA’s Ayushman app. Senior citizens who are not tech-savvy can apply for the card at a PM-JAY-staffed hospital.

Following the expansion of AB PM-JAY to all senior citizens regardless of income criteria, the program has attracted many elderly residents who are willing to apply.

However, instead of applying for PM-JAY’s Ayushman Bharat’s health insurance card, many have started applying for the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) card, also issued by NHA and managed under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission ( ABDM ). .

This is what happened to seventy-year-old V. Rajalaksmi, a resident of Madipakkam. “I have been trying to get the Ayushman Bharat health insurance card for the last few years, but initially I could not apply because my children were working and I did not fall into the right income bracket. However, after the recent announcement that the program has been expanded to all senior citizens, my daughter tried to apply for this program but ended up downloading the ABHA card. When he asked a few hospitals around us, they said that this card was not valid for health insurance. After speaking to PM-JAY customer service, he applied again and finally managed to get the appropriate AB PM-JAY health insurance card for me,” he says.

What is ABHA card?

The ABHA card (blue and white card) is not a health insurance card. This is a tool offered by the Center to provide patients with a seamless experience in accessing their medical records. An ABHA card is a type of medical account with a unique health identification number. It is connected to a unified healthcare interface for digital storage of medical records so that patients can seamlessly access their records from anywhere in the country.

Every Indian citizen, regardless of their income level, is issued a 14-digit health identification number. In addition to the 14-digit number, citizens are also given a special email address or ‘ABHA address’ containing the suffixes @abdm or @ndhm. Health insurance details, medication history, hospitalization, etc. information can be stored in the ABHA digital account.

For example, if you are a resident of Chennai and visiting relatives in Mumbai and want to avail medical services while there, your digital ABHA card may come in handy instead of answering the doctor’s questions about your medical history. because it will also include your full medical history, consultation details and prescriptions.

To create an ABHA account, you can log in to: Where you can use your Aadhar card or driving license and you will be issued a unique health identification number. The website states that once this process is completed, you can register for an ABHA address using your ABHA number and ensure that the health records created for you are shared only with you. To enable health data sharing, it is recommended that you create a ABDM ABHA address and link it to your ABHA number.

You can then download ABHA mobile app or Aarogya Setu app or other ABDM-enabled apps to access your digitally stored medical records.

What you need to know

Think of it this way: The blue and white ABHA card is simply a digital locker that stores your medical history and acts as a medical identification (ID) card. The orange and white AB PM-JAY is your health insurance card that comes with ₹5 lakh health insurance cover. This card allows you to get cashless treatment at a private hospital if you are a senior citizen.

Ajay Kannan, deputy general manager, billing, Kauvery Hospital in Chennai, explains: “We are one of the hospitals appointed for the government health insurance scheme. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme and PM-JAY schemes have now been merged. This means that if patients are in Tamil Nadu, they can avail free health insurance using TN card or AB PM-JAY card. If patients are outside Tamil Nadu, they can claim through their PM-JAY card. However, patients must have the correct AB PM-JAY card and not the ABHA card.”

Having both cards will allow you to access your digital medical records and benefit from insurance at government or privately staffed hospitals. But it’s important to know exactly what you’re applying for.