Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) & Ayushman Bharat Card eligibility

Ayushman Bharat is the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna or PM-JAY as it is popularly known. This scheme was launched on 23rd September, 2018 in Ranchi, Jharkhand by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.

Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY is the largest health assurance scheme in the world which aims at providing a health cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to over 10.74 crores poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) that form the bottom 40% of the Indian population. The households included are based on the deprivation and occupational criteria of Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011) for rural and urban areas respectively. PM-JAY was earlier known as the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) before being rechristened. It subsumed the then existing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) which had been launched in 2008. The coverage mentioned under PM-JAY, therefore, also includes families that were covered in RSBY but are not present in the SECC 2011 database. PM-JAY is fully funded by the Government and cost of implementation is shared between the Central and State Governments.

Key Features of PM-JAY

• PM-JAY is a health assurance scheme that covers 10.74 crores households across India or approx 50 cr 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. 

Benefit Cover Under PM-JAY

Benefit cover under various Government-funded health insurance schemes in India have always been structured on an upper ceiling limit ranging from an annual cover of INR 30,000 to INR 3,00,000 per family across various States which created a fragmented system. PM-JAY provides cashless cover of up to INR 5,00,000 to each eligible family per annum for listed secondary and tertiary care conditions. The cover under the scheme includes all expenses incurred on the following components of the treatment.

• Medical examination, treatment and consultation
• Pre-hospitalization
• Medicine and medical consumables
• Non-intensive and intensive care services
• Diagnostic and laboratory investigations
• Medical implantation services (where necessary)
• Accommodation benefits
• Food services
• Complications arising during treatment
• Post-hospitalization follow-up care up to 15 days

Ayushman Bharat Card Registration Process

There is no special Ayushman Bharat registration procedure pertaining to PMJAY. This is because PMJAY applies to all beneficiaries as identified by the SECC 2011 and those who are already part of the RSBY scheme. However, here’s how you can check if you are eligible to be a beneficiary of PMJAY. 

• Visit https://www.pmjay.gov.in/ and click on ‘Am I Eligible’
• Enter your mobile number and the CAPTCHA code and click on ‘Generate OTP’
• Then select your state and search by name/ HHD number/ ration card number/ mobile number
• Based on the search results you can verify if your family is covered under PMJAY 

Or dial the Ayushman Bharat Yojana call centre number: 14555 or 1800-111-565