The Government has made Aadhaar number mandatory for the patients in case they seek benefits second time under the recently-launched Ayushman Bharat — Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
In case the Aadhaar number is not available, beneficiaries have to at least provide documents to prove that they have enrolled for the 12-digit unique identity number, according to a senior official in the Union Health Ministry.
The move follows Supreme Court order declaring the Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid.
The officer said that as the Supreme Court order is still being assessed, right now we have decided that one should have Aadhaar number or at least documents to prove that one has enrolled for the 12-digit unique identity number to seek treatment under the scheme for the second time.
"To avail benefits for the first time, one can either show an Aadhaar or any other identity document like election card etc," the official added.
The Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM), which was renamed as AB-PMJAY, was launched pan-India by the Prime Minister from Jharkhand on September 23.
Under the scheme, the Government aims at providing a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10.74 crore poor families for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation through a network of Empanelled Health Care Providers (EHCP).
The PMJAY will provide cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiary at the point of service.
Over 14,000 hospitals both public and private, have been empanelled for the scheme, and as many as 32 States and union territories have signed MoUs with the Centre and will implement the programme.