IRDAI Mandates Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) ID For Policyholders: Here's How To Create

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has issued an order to all insurers requiring both new and existing subscribers to obtain a unique Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) ID.

This 14-digit identifier will be assigned to every citizen, allowing the government to collect and store their health-related information under their unique ABHA IDs. The implementation of the ABHA ID system not only enables digital identification of policyholders but also ensures improved healthcare benefits for all individuals.

The ABHA ID empowers citizens to digitally authenticate, access, and manage their health records, simplifying the process of scheduling hospital appointments and consultations with doctors. This eliminates the need for lengthy registration queues at healthcare facilities. The ABHA ID is an integral part of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), which is overseen by the National Health Authority (NHA). Currently, the NHA has issued 402.6 million ABHA IDs, with the goal of covering the entire Indian population.

How to create your ABHA ID number

The regulatory body has issued a directive to insurance companies, mandating the inclusion of a provision for capturing the 14-digit ABHA ID in the proposal form. To generate your Ayushman Bharat Health ID (ABHA ID), you can visit the websites of insurance companies or intermediaries such as third-party administrators (TPAs) and provide consent to access your medical records through the ABHA/ABDM (Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission) platform. Although insurers are in the process of integrating this procedure, follow these steps to create a new ABHA account using your Aadhaar information-

1. Go to the website healthid.ndhm.gov.in.
2. For registration, enter your Aadhaar card number or use your driving licence.
3. Enter the OTP that was issued to a registered mobile number for verification.
4. An immediate 14-digit Digital Health Card or ABHA will be generated.
After successfully creating an ABHA account, you can use this ID to purchase a new policy or present it to your insurer at the time of renewal. There are no eligibility requirements for obtaining an ABHA ID.

Points to remember

The government will keep track of people' health-related information via ABHA IDs. You will not need to register at hospitals before receiving treatment if you have an ABHA ID. This will expedite the hospitalisation and claims processes.
The ABHA ID would assist in digitally identifying the insured and facilitating seamless healthcare and insurance delivery. It would also provide insurers with easy and rapid access to a person's medical records in a secure and paperless manner, while also assisting the individual with a transparent and speedy claims servicing procedure.

Electronic medical records generated by healthcare providers are stored in their own systems in accordance with legal requirements. After the patient's agreement, ABDM only permits secure data exchange between the intended stakeholders on the ABDM network.
It will allow insurers to efficiently access policyholders' comprehensive medical information. As a result, assist them with prompt claims service, and policyholders will not suffer claim rejection during hospitalisation due to medical differences.