Context: Central government employees enrolled in the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) are required to link their CGHS beneficiary ID with their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) ID
About Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA):
- Nodal ministry: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
- Component of: Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)
- Aim: To facilitate cashless transactions and manage financial aspects related to healthcare services under the Ayushman Bharat scheme (ABS).
- Key features: It is a 14 digit account/ number used to link all the health records of a person.
- There are two ways to get an ABHA health ID. Users can use their Aadhaar number along with some basic information like your name, birthday, gender, and address. If users don't have an Aadhaar card, they can also use their driver's license or mobile number.
- It intends to create a digital health ecosystem & aims to promote digitization of healthcare.
- Any individual can enroll in Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) to generate a Health ID or ABHA, free of cost.
- It integrates electronic health records, facilitating the storage and retrieval of patient information.
- The accounts are designed to be portable across various healthcare providers empanelled under the ABS, allowing beneficiaries to access services seamlessly, regardless of their location.
- It incorporates real-time monitoring mechanisms to track the utilization of funds and ensure that resources are allocated efficiently.
- By promoting digital transactions and maintaining electronic records, enhances transparency and accountability in the healthcare system, reduces the scope for corruption and ensures that funds are utilized for their intended purpose.
- Components:
- Beneficiary Identification: It involves the identification and registration of eligible beneficiaries and each beneficiary is assigned a unique health identification number (UHID) to facilitate tracking and management.
- Funds Management: It manages the allocation and disbursement of funds for healthcare services availed by beneficiaries, and ensures that funds are transferred to healthcare providers promptly and securely.
- Claim Settlement: It processes and settles claims submitted by healthcare providers for services rendered to beneficiaries by verifying the authenticity of claims and disbursing payments accordingly.
- Audit and Oversight: It incorporates audit and oversight mechanisms to monitor the utilization of funds and detect any irregularities or discrepancies.
- Benefits: Reduces out-of-pocket expenses for beneficiaries and enhances access to quality healthcare.
- By facilitating cashless transactions and electronic health records, it minimizes administrative hassles and delays, allowing healthcare providers to focus on patient care.
- Through data generation, it helps in addressing healthcare challenges effectively and improving the overall quality of care.
Steps to Create/Link ABHA number with the CGHS beneficiary ID:
- Ensure that the mobile number is linked with the CGHS card and Aadhar card is linked with the aforementioned phone number.
- 4 steps:
- Step 01: Open CGHS website http://www.cghs.nic.in and Log-in via Beneficiary Log-in.
- Step 02: Move to the ‘Update’ Tab and Click to ‘Create/Link ABHA ID’
- Step 03: Click on ‘Create/Link ABHA ID’.
- Step 04: If beneficiary does not have an ABHA number, then click on ‘I don’t have an ABHA number’
- Enter Aadhar number
- Accept the Consent Message
- Click on Get Aadhar OTP
- Enter Aadhar OTP
- Click on ‘Verify OTP’
- If the data is successfully matched, the ABHA number is created and successfully linked with the CGHS beneficiary ID.
- In case a beneficiary already has an ABHA number, In step 04, instead of clicking on ‘I don’t have an ABHA number’, enter the 14 digit ABHA number and proceed by verifying OTP.
Learn more about the Ayushman Bharat scheme (ABS) here: https://compass.rauias.com/current-affairs/five-years-ayushman-bharat/"