Health is one of the best assets of an individual. A healthy individual is very important for the success of the country in the worldwide competition. But with the advancements in the fields of science and technology, the cost of healthcare facilities is increasing day by day. In order to ensure that all classes of people can afford healthcare services, the government has started various schemes. These schemes are sponsored by the government which decreases the cost of healthcare services and makes it easier for everyone to avail these facilities. One of these schemes is the Pradhan MAntri Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.

The Ayushman Bharat is a scheme that provides health protection and health insurance to the citizens. The Ayushman Bharat provides an insurance coverage of the maximum amount of Rs. 50 lakh on the basis of a family floater to the beneficiaries every year. This helps in receiving primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services. This scheme was initiated under the National Health Protection Scheme(NHPS) and was referred to as AB-NHPS. Now, it is referred to as the Ayushman Bharat

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna(PM-JAY). It has been decided that this scheme will be made available to everyone via national insurance companies.

Benefits and Features of the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana

There are a lot of benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana and a lot of features that are provided to the people who come under this scheme. They are listed as follows:

• The beneficiary family is provided a cover of a maximum of Rs. 5 lakhs on an annual basis.
• The scheme is used to avail primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services.
• The benefits of Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana can be used at any government hospital.
• The beneficiaries are targeted towards deprived rural families and the poor.
• In order to make payments, the package model will be used. This package will be decided by the government that is incharge of the payment of specific services, total costs and procedures.
• For better coordination between the state and central government, the government will launch an Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission.
• 40% of the population of India are covered in the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana. These people are generally poor and vulnerable.
• All the expenses that the beneficiary pays from his own pocket are also covered in Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana.
•  All the costs that the beneficiary faced before and after hospitalisation will be covered.
• Cashless hospitalisation will be availed through the insurance.
• The scheme also covers the daycare expenses.
• It also covers all the health conditions that pre-existed.

Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana criteria for eligible rural families

The following are the six major impoverishment criteria that are responsible for identifying those rural families who are eligible  to avail the benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana:

1. Those families in which there is no adult member between the age of 16 to 59 years of age who can earn for the family.
2. Households which do not have any adult male members between the age of 16 to 59 years of age and are run by a female.
3. Households which have makeshift walls and roof and have a single room only.
4. Households that belong to SC or ST category.
5. Households in which the members are disabled and there is no able-member who can offer support.
6. Landless households in which the basic source of income is manual labour.

Also, the households that are listed below are automatically eligible for the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana:

• Poor families that rely on charity.
• Families of those people who are manual scavengers.
• Households that lack a proper shelter.
• Families that have bonded labourers
• Vulnerable groups of tribal people.

Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana criteria for eligible urban families

If an urban family belongs to one of the following mentioned categories, then it will be eligible to enjoy the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana:

1. Hawkers, cobblers and street vendors
2. Domestic workers
3. Beggars and Rag Pickers
4. Plumbers, masons, painters, welders, security guards and construction site workers
5. Coolies
6. Gardeners, Sweepers and Sanitation Workers
7. Washerman and watchmen
8. Artisans, handi-craft workers and tailors
9. Assemblers, mechanics, electricians and repair workers
10. Peon, shop workers, helpers, attendants and waiters

Eligibility criteria for empanelled hospitals

The government has framed the following criteria for the hospitals that will be empanelled under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana:

1. The hospital needs to be registered with the health agencies of the state.
2. The nursing and medical staff must be qualified and be present 24/7.
3. There should be atleast 10 in-patient beds in the hospital.
4. Accessible washrooms should also be present in the hospital.
5. The data of the hospital should be maintained properly by an interoperable IT system.
6. A proper record of the patients under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana needs to be maintained and shared with the government whenever needed.
7. Emergency services and ambulances must be available in the hospital.
8. Dedicated medical staff should be appointed for AB-NHPS  operations in the hospital.
9. A blood bank and a testing laboratory should be somewhere near the hospital.
10. The hospital must be equipped with proper technical and medical necessities.
11. The hospital must have access to pure water, electricity and waste disposal.

Registering in the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana

In order to register yourself under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana, the person will have to visit the official website of Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana. Then, you will have to enter your mobile number and the captcha code. Once you submit the captcha code, you need to click on “Generate OTP.”

You will receive an OTP on your registered mobile number. Using this OTP, you can login to the website and then you can easily complete the verification process. Then, you will be redirected to the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana login Screen.

Also, you will have to enter the state to which you belong. Then, you will choose the way you want to select the eligibility criteria.

• Name
• Mobile Number
• Ration Card Number
• RSBY URN Number

If you will be selected as an eligible candidate for the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana, then your name will appear on the right-hand side of the page. You can also check the details of your beneficiary by selecting the “Family members” option.

Conclusion

After going through the blog and getting to know about the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana and its feature and benefits, it can be concluded that it is beneficial and quite helpful for people belonging to impoverished backgrounds to register under this scheme and avail various healthcare services that are government-sponsored.