Over 14 crore health IDs generated free of cost so far, says Centre

New Delhi: The government has made a provision for every citizen to generate a Health ID free of cost and over 14 crore such IDs have been created till the first week of December, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar informed the Lok Sabha on Friday. The creation of Health IDs is voluntary, Pawar said in a written reply to a question. However, the NHA is creating awareness among the citizens about the usage and advantages of the Health IDs to ensure their maximum participation, she stated. The Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) was launched on September 23, 2018 to provide health coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per annum per beneficiary family to around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families identified from Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) data of 2011 on the basis of select deprivation and occupational criteria across rural and urban areas respectively, Pawar said. The number of eligible beneficiaries under SECC 2011 is 10.74 crore families (50 crore people). Pawar said 33 states and UTs implementing AB-PMJAY have further expanded the coverage of the scheme to include 13.44 crore families (65 crore people). The AB-PMJAY is implemented in all states and UTs barring West Bengal, NCT of Delhi and Odisha. It is the world’s largest government funded health assurance scheme, she said. It is a completely cashless and paperless scheme and the benefits under AB-PMJAY are portable across the country. There is no cap on family size, or age or gender.