As many as 21.9 crore beneficiaries have been verified under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri – Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) Scheme including 3 crore beneficiaries verified using State IT systems as on 4^th January, 2023. Approximately 4.3 crore hospital admissions, amounting to Rs. 50,409 crore, have also been authorised under the scheme through a network of over 26,055 hospitals, highlights the Economic Survey 2022-23. The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2022-23 in Parliament today.

The Pre-budget Survey observes that AB-PMJAY is the world’s largest health insurance scheme that aims to minimise the Out of Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) of the target beneficiaries arising due to expenditure on healthcare. The scheme provides health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to over 10.7 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) that form the bottom 40 per cent of the Indian population identified based on the deprivation and occupational criteria of the SocioEconomic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011) and other State schemes.

Ayushman Bharat – Heath and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs)

1,54,070 AB-HWCs have been operationalized across the country by upgrading the SHCs and PHCs in rural and urban areas, states the Survey. The AB-HWCs provide Comprehensive Primary Health Care, by expanding and strengthening the existing Reproductive & Child Health services and Communicable Diseases services and by including services related to Non- Communicable Diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and 3 common cancers, viz. Oral, Breast and Cervix. The first HWCs was inaugurated on 14 April 2018 in the Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh.

 According to the Economic Survey, as on 31 December 2022:

• 1,54,070 HWCs operationalised across the country.
•  More than 135 Crore cumulative footfall.
• More than 87.0 Crore cumulative screening of Non communicable diseases
•  More than 1.6 crore Wellness Sessions, including Yoga.
• Under the e-Sanjeevani teleconsultation platform, more than 9.3 crore tele-consultations have been provided through functional HWCs at 15,465 Hubs (comprising MBBS/ Specialty/Super Specialty doctors at zonal level) and 1,12,987 Spokes (AB-HWCs at state level) across the country, as on 17 January 2023.

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission aims at creating a secure online platform based on open, interoperable digital standards. This will enable access and exchange of health records of citizens with their consent through services such as the issuance of Health ID, Healthcare Professionals Registry, Health Facility Registry and Health Records. This will boost the adoption of digital technologies in healthcare, thereby making quality healthcare more accessible and affordable.

As per the Survey, as on 10 January 2023 key achievements of the Mission are:

• Ayushman Bharat health account (earlier known as Health ID) created: 31,11,96,965
• · Verified facilities on health facility registry: 1,92,706
• · Verified healthcare professionals on healthcare professional registry: 1,23,442
• Health records linked : 7,52,01,236

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