Ayushman Bharat Yojana: You can get an Ayushman card in just 15 minutes; check the details

In October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the expansion of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to include health insurance for people aged 70 and above, regardless of their income level. To facilitate this expansion, the Center has introduced the Ayushman Vaya Vandana card, which offers additional coverage worth Rs 5 lakh annually to senior citizens above 70 years. This coverage will be shared among several elderly beneficiaries in the household.

Within 11 days of the expansion of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) to include persons aged 70 years and above, there has been a significant increase in the number of senior citizens, according to the latest government data. Data from the National Health Authority shows that nearly 6.5 lakh senior citizens have successfully registered and received Ayushman cards during this period. Kerala is the leader in the registration of senior citizens, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana by a narrow margin.

Ayushman Vaya Vandana Card is designed to provide free medical services to senior citizens living in large institutions. This initiative is designed to help seniors access high-quality medical care when needed. The card is available to all seniors over 70, regardless of income level. This ensures that every elderly person can receive free hospital treatment, regardless of their financial situation. Eligible applicants can apply online through the official Ayushman Yojana portal or mobile application. It takes 15 minutes to get the card.

Here are some easy steps to enroll for Ayushman Vaya Vandana card

1. Go to the official website of the National Health Service.
2. Login on the home page using the provided captcha code, enter your mobile number and authenticate to receive the OTP. After entering the OTP and the second captcha code, continue the login process. This step can be performed by the beneficiary or operator.
3. Select the appropriate options from the drop-down menus for Scheme, State, Sub-scheme, District and Search Criteria on the next screen.
4. If no information found, select ‘clear here to register’ option for pensioners aged 70 and above.
5. On the next screen, enter your Aadhaar number, captcha code and click on Search. If the details are not found in the database, a message will appear at the bottom asking you to click “new registration 70”. Click on it.
6. On the next screen, the option of e-KYC (AadC OTP, Fingerprint and Iris) will appear. Applicants have the option to choose any of the available options. In this guide we will focus on AadC OTP. Please confirm your AadC number, select the consent box after reviewing it carefully and click Allow.
7. The OTP will be sent to both the mobile number associated with the AadC and the user’s mobile number. Please enter these OTPs in the appropriate fields.
8. After the successful completion of e-KYC, a confirmation message “e-KYC successful. You are eligible for AB PM-JAY program 70 years or more.’ To proceed, select the appropriate beneficiary option like CGHS, CAPF, none of the above or self-declare and provide the required information in the appropriate box.
9. Once the e-KYC process is successfully verified, the system will automatically retrieve the beneficiary information such as name, patronymic, date of birth, etc. However, the beneficiary will have to take a photograph for archival purposes and provide additional details including mobile number, category, pin code, address and comprehensive information about all family members before completing and submitting the form. Remember that this information is mandatory and must be filled in completely before submission.
10. After successful submission, the process will be completed and a pop-up message will appear on the screen saying “e-KYC completed successfully”. Wait for some time to load Ayushmann card”. The card will be available for download to pensioners in 15 minutes.

Launched on 23 September 2018, the AB PM-JAY scheme is the largest government-sponsored health insurance scheme, offering medical coverage of Rs 5 lakh annually per family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalizations to 55 million people, equivalent to 12.34 crore families. All family members, regardless of age, are covered under the scheme. Till date, 7.37 crores have been hospitalized under the scheme, with 49% of the beneficiaries being women. This scheme has provided the public with over Rs. 1 lakh crore benefits.