Ayushman Bharat is a healthcare scheme of the Indian government that was launched in 2018 under a vision of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Under UHC, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna is a health insurance scheme with a mission to provide healthcare facilities to people below the poverty line.

In India, access to credible information is rare, so people aren't aware of such government schemes leading to them not being able to benefit from them. With an Ayushman Card, a family can get health coverage up to five lakhs yearly.

In order to stay updated, it's important to know about Ayushman Bharat and PMJAY in detail. This blog includes all the information you need to know about this brilliant government scheme.

What is Ayushman Bharat Yojana Scheme (PMJAY)?

Ayushman Bharat Yojana Scheme or Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PMJAY) is the second yet important component of Ayushman Bharat. It is a government health insurance scheme launched on 23rd September 2018 by the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.

Ayushman Bharat Yojna Scheme is the world's largest health insurance scheme and has up to 50 crores of beneficiaries with over 17.9 crores of Ayushman Cards issued. The scheme focuses on making secondary and tertiary healthcare services completely cashless for people below the poverty line.

The government health card scheme covers most medical care expenses, medicines, diagnostics and pre-hospitalisation costs. Additionally, the scheme offers cashless hospitalisation services through the Ayushman Bharat Yojana e-card, which you can use to get healthcare services at empanelled hospitals across the country. Beneficiaries of the scheme can avail of hospitalisation for necessary treatment by showing their PMJAY e-card.

To know more about the Ayushman Bharat Yojana Scheme (PMJAY), check our related blog here: 

What is an Ayushman Card?

Under this mera PMJAY scheme, a physical or an e-ayushman card is issued to households whose names are under a list. This list was made under SECC 2011 (Socio-Economic Caste Census) for urban and rural areas. 

Families who suffer from lack of income, houses and other problems are included in this list for rural areas. While the criteria for urban households are based on occupation.

Benefits of the Ayushman Card

The majority of the Government-funded medical insurance schemes provide a limit cover up to Rs 3 Lakh. However, Ayushman Bharat Yojana or PM-JAY offers to cover up to Rs 5 Lakh along with cashless medical treatment services to the beneficiaries in private and public hospitals in India. Each family in India that fulfils the Ayushman Bharat Yojana eligibility criteria can avail of this amount for defined secondary and tertiary care illnesses.

The benefits of the Ayushman Card are listed in detail below:

Healthcare cover of ₹ 5 lakh per family

With a family-floater health insurance policy of Rs 5 lakhs per family, this health insurance welfare scheme also includes three days of pre-hospitalisation costs and up to 15 days of post-hospitalisation expenses, as well as intensive and non-intensive healthcare services.

Covers Families included in the SECC Database

The PMJAY health insurance will provide Swasthya Suraksha, or health protection, to approximately 10 crore families in India, mainly the poor and lower, middle-class sections of the society. The beneficiary families will be decided on the basis of the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data.

Priority to the Girl Child, Women, and Older People

One of the best Ayushman health card benefits is that it gives priority to a girl child, women, and older people. Under this health insurance, there are no age or family size limitations.

Includes Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Care

You must also remember that those who require the secondary healthcare benefits provided by urologists and cardiologists can benefit from this government health scheme. Additionally, this scheme appropriately covers procedures like cardiac surgery and cancer treatment.

Covers All Pre-Existing Diseases

Another reason one must consider PM Ayushman Bharat Yojana is that it has no bar on coverage of pre-existing conditions. It offers coverage on sorts of PED or pre-existing conditions, and no beneficiary can be turned away for any medical care need.

Paperless and Cashless Registration

The main benefit of the Ayushman card is that it saves the beneficiary from the hassles of paperwork and finding money to pay for medical care. Registration for this plan is entirely cashless and paperless.

Pocket-Friendly Health Insurance Scheme

One of the health card benefits of Ayushman Yojana is that it is an affordable scheme that helps people from rural areas to get healthcare treatments without extra out-of-pocket expenses. The chances for delay or corruption in this scheme are close to negligible.

Covers Critical Conditions

Besides PED, the PMJDY scheme also provides coverage for numerous critical conditions, including COVID-19, prostate cancer, skull base surgery, anterior spine fixation, double valve replacement, coronary artery bypass graft, and tissue expander after burn injuries for disfigurement, and others.

Over 1,354 Medical Packages

At present, there are more than 1,354 medical packages under the PMJAY scheme. These medical packages cover the costs of various surgical operations, diagnosis, medicines, and even daycare treatments.

Advancement of Quality of Life of the Population

This scheme will improve the quality of life of the weaker section of society by ensuring they get timely care and financial support to manage their medical issues.

Conclusion

All the above-mentioned Ayushman card benefits can be availed by all the eligible people covered under the PMJAY scheme. They can receive medical care in case of emergencies with the help of cashless hospitalisation offered by this scheme. Furthermore, with this plan, India's rural population can get timely medical care even for pre-existing illnesses and some of the most common critical conditions. 

Benefits for up to Rs. 5 lakhs can be easily accessible under this government scheme, just like any family floater health plan. By far, it is not just the poorer members of the society living in the rural areas; even the impoverished people living in the urban areas can also take advantage of this helpful government health scheme.

For any information related to free surgery under Ayushman Yojana or any queries regarding Ayushman Bharat Yojana, Contact Medpho on #BasEkCall at 88569-88569.