If you are an Indian citizen and cannot afford quality health care because of a lack of money, then it is very important for you to know about the Ayushman Bharat Golden Card.
This card is a part of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), a flagship scheme of the Government of India, and it is a very beneficial scheme for availing health benefits.
The main objective of the Ayushman-Bharat Golden Card is to provide free health insurance to the poor and vulnerable.
In this post, we will tell you exactly what the Ayushman Bharat Golden Card is and how it can save your life and money.
In this article, we will explain everything you need to know about this card, including its benefits, eligibility, application process, and much more. By the end of this article, you will be able to make an informed decision about whether you should apply for the Ayushman-Bharat Golden Card or not.
What is the Ayushman Bharat Golden Card?
1: The Ayushman Bharat Golden Card is a health insurance card issued by the National Health Authority under the flagship scheme of the Government of India. All poor and weaker sections living in India can avail free health benefits in any hospital that is registered under the PMJAY scheme through the Ayushman Card.
2: This Ayushman Helath card allows you to get free health insurance up to Rs 5 lakh per year under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, which covers more than 10 crore families and over 50 crore beneficiaries across the country.
3: The Ayushman card contains all the information related to you, like beneficiary name, age, gender, family details, and a QR code. This QR code is unique for each beneficiary and stores their health records and transactions. Any empaneled hospital allows you to avail cashless and paperless treatment after scanning the QR code printed on the Ayushman Helath card.
What is the eligibility of the Ayushman Bharat Golden Card?
The government has developed a system called the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011, which collects and analyses data on the socio-economic status of households in rural and urban areas across the country. The data provided by SECC 2011 is used to determine the eligibility of the Ayushman-Bharat Golden Card, which is a health insurance scheme for the poor and vulnerable sections of society.
Ayushman Bharat Golden Card for rural areas
The government has established six criteria that apply to all families living in rural areas, and any rural family that meets these criteria is eligible to receive the Ayushman Bharat Golden Card, which entitles them to various health benefits.
1: This scheme (PMJAY) is also available for those families that do not have any adult members between the ages of 16 and 59 who are earning an income or have a source of livelihood.
2: Another category of families that can get an Ayushman card are those that do not have any male members between the ages of 16 and 59 and whose head of household is a woman who takes care of the family’s needs.
3: The PMJAY scheme also covers such families that have at least one member who is disabled and who does not have any other family member who can earn or support them financially.
4: Such rural families who do not own any land for cultivation and who depend on manual labour for their survival can also take advantage of this scheme and access health services.
5: If a family lives in a one-room house that is made of mud or grass and that does not have a concrete wall or roof, then they can also benefit from the Ayushman-Bharat Golden Card scheme and get medical assistance.
6: All those Indian families that belong to Scheduled Castes (SC) or Scheduled Tribes (ST) are also considered eligible for this scheme and can apply for the Ayushman Helath card.
Ayushman Card Eligibility for Urban Areas
The government has established eleven (11) criteria that apply to all families residing in urban areas, and any urban family that meets these criteria is eligible to receive the Ayushman-Bharat Golden Card, which entitles them to various health benefits under the PMJAY scheme.
1: Families whose members are engaged in garbage collection in the streets and face health and environmental hazards
2: Families whose members are beggars and rely on begging for their daily sustenance and survival
3: Domestic workers who are employed in households, earn low wages, and have no social security
4: Street vendors or hawkers who sell goods or services on the streets and have irregular and meagre incomes
5: The cobbler who repairs shoes and slippers for a living and supports his or her family with the earnings
6: A home-based worker or any other small-scale worker who works from home or in a small workshop and has no formal contract or protection
7: Plumbers, electricians, masons, construction workers, porters, welders, painters, security guards, etc. who provide manual or skilled labour and have no job security or benefits
8: Transport workers such as drivers, conductors, helpers, and cart or rickshaw pullers who transport people or goods and face risks of accidents and injuries
9: Shop workers, helpers, peons in small establishments, delivery assistants, attendants, and waiters who work in shops or restaurants and earn low wages and have long working hours
10: The tailor who sews clothes for people and takes care of his or her family with the income from the stitching work
11: A sweeper, cleaning worker, or gardener who performs cleaning or gardening tasks and faces exposure to dirt and diseases
In addition to all the criteria mentioned above, there are some other criteria that also qualify people for the Ayushman Helath card scheme, which provides health insurance coverage to the poor and vulnerable.
1: Households that have at least one member who was enrolled under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), a government-sponsored health insurance scheme for the unorganized sector workers, as of February 28, 2018.
2: Households that are covered under any state health insurance scheme that is being merged with PMJAY, a national health protection scheme that aims to provide cashless and paperless access to health care services.
Why take the Ayushman Bharat Card?
The Ayushman Bharat Golden Card is a health insurance card that entitles you to free and quality health care services at any of the empaneled hospitals across the country under the PMJAY scheme.
1: If you belong to a poor or vulnerable household, you may be eligible to get this card and avail the benefits of the scheme, which covers more than 10 crore families in India.
2: This card can save your life by providing you with timely and effective treatment for various diseases and conditions, whether they are minor or major, without any cost.
3: The Ayushman card can also save you money by covering the expenses of hospitalization, medicines, diagnostics, and follow-up care, which can otherwise be a huge burden for you and your family.
To know more about the Ayushman-Bharat Golden Card and how to get it, you can visit the official website of PMJAY or call the toll-free number 14555, where you can check your eligibility and find the nearest empaneled hospital.
If you are facing any difficulties or challenges in making the Ayushman Card, you can seek the assistance of any Ensured Pay Ayushman Health Card agent near your location. Ensured Pay agents are trained and authorized to help you make the Ayushman Helath card by using the Ensured Pay platform, which is a government-certified portal for making Ayushman Health Card under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, a national health protection scheme.
Some important facts about the Ayushman Bharat Scheme
Being eligible under the Ayushman Bharat scheme does not automatically guarantee that you can get the benefits of this scheme.
To access the health care services provided by this scheme, you have to register yourself in the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) and get an Ayushman-Bharat card.
Without the Ayushman-Bharat Golden Card, you will not be able to avail of any of the benefits offered by this scheme, even if you meet the eligibility criteria.
To put it simply, having an Ayushman Bharat Golden Card is a compulsory requirement to access the health care services provided by the PMJAY scheme. This is because this card is the proof of your eligibility and identity that you have to show in the network hospital to avail cashless treatment under the PMJAY scheme. Therefore, you have to apply for the Ayushman card if you want to benefit from this scheme.
If you apply for the Ayushman Helath card with the help of an Ensured Pay Ayushman Health card agent or Common Service Centre, then you may have to pay some fees for this service. However, if you apply for the Ayushman-Bharat Golden Card with the help of the nearest hospital, then you will get it for free.
Become an Ayushman Card agent in minutes with the Ensured Pay app.
Download the Ensured Pay app and sign up with your details to become an authorized agent for making Ayushman cards for the people of your area. You can expand your work portfolio and increase your income by providing this valuable service to the eligible beneficiaries.