Starting from April 1, the government has mandated the linking of the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) beneficiary ID with the Ayushman Bharat Health Account ID (ABHA).
In a press release, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated, “Existing beneficiaries are required to link their CGHS beneficiary ID with the ABHA ID within a period of 30 days.”
Established in 1954, the Central Government Health Scheme provides comprehensive healthcare services to Central Government employees, pensioners, and their dependents.
Ayushman Bharat, also known as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 23, 2018. This scheme offers coverage of up to Rs. 5 lakhs per family annually for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
To build a national digital health ecosystem, the government subsequently introduced the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). Its objective is to develop a platform that facilitates interoperability of health data within the health ecosystem to create longitudinal Electronic Health Records (EHR) for every citizen. ABHA serves as a Unique Health Identifier, consisting of a random 14-digit number that may be issued digitally or in the form of a hardcopy. As of January 24, 2024, a total of 52,50,15,110 ABHA Numbers have been generated.
The integration of CGHS with Ayushman Bharat is anticipated to widen the range of hospital options available to patients.
