Over 30 crore Ayushman Cards have been created under the Centre’s flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) since its launch five years ago, according to the Union Health Ministry.
With 4.83 crore Ayushman Cards, Uttar Pradesh tops the list of States with the highest number of Ayushman Cards created.
Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra stand at number two and three positions with 3.78 crore and 2.39 crore Ayushman cards respectively. 11 States have more than 1 crore Ayushman card holders.
The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 23, 2018. It provides assurance of Rs 5 lakh per year per family, ensuring that quality healthcare is made accessible to low-income earners in the country.
Female beneficiaries form 49 per cent of all beneficiaries, accounting for 146 million Ayushman cards.
Data suggests that 48 per cent of all treatment provided under the scheme has been availed by female beneficiaries.
General medicine is the most consulted specialty under the scheme, with over 11 crore patients under the AB-PMJAY, the data said.
It is followed by infectious diseases (43 crore consultations), general surgery (30 crore consultations), and medical oncology (25 crore consultations).
The top five specialties with respect to consultations amount to a combined total of Rs 18,483.35 crore paid out of the public exchequer since the scheme’s launch.
Currently, the scheme provides 919 Health Benefit Packages (HBPs), covering 1,670 procedures under 26 specialties.
General surgery has the highest number of HBPs with 105 packages, whereas medical oncology covers the most procedures at 264.
According to data provided by the government, more than 167 million Ayushman cards have been created during the last two financial years. “As of date, during 2023-24, more than 7.5 crore Ayushman cards have been created, implying that approximately 181 Ayushman cards are created every minute,” a ministry communication stated.
The National Health Authority (NHA), the body responsible for implementing AB-PMJAY, describes the scheme’s primary objectives to be ensuring comprehensive coverage for catastrophic illnesses, reducing out-of-pocket expenditure, and improving access to hospitalisation care.
Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY has successfully catered to 6.2 crore hospital admissions worth more than Rs. 79,157 crores. If the beneficiary would have availed the same treatment on their own outside the ambit of AB PM-JAY, the total cost of the treatment would have gone nearly 2 times higher, thus, saving more than 1.25 lakh crore out of pocket expenditure of poor and deprived families,” the statement said.