326 Ayushman cards found fake in Patiala

Karam Prakash

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Patiala, October 5

The ongoing investigation into availing of benefits through “fake” Ayushman Bharat Sehat Bima Yojana (ABSBY) cards has revealed that one of the common service centres in Patiala issued as many as 326 fake ABSBY cards.

A probe by the Health Department has been ordered by the State Health Agency (SHA), which is the nodal agency to implement the national insurance scheme in the state.

An investigation by The Tribune has revealed that an ineligible beneficiary can get a fake health insurance card for Rs 2,000, which could be used to avail of benefits running into lakhs.

Notably, the Ayushman Bharat scheme has a benefit cover of Rs 5 lakh per year. Under the scheme, a person is eligible to take cashless benefits from any public/private-empanelled hospitals across the country. Taking advantage of a “weak” card issuance system, many ineligible people, including NRIs, have already benefited from the scheme meant for the poor.

The investigating committee, comprising doctors of the Health Department, Patiala, found that the common service centre had issued a total of 418 health cards of which 326 were fake.

All fake cards have already been cancelled by the SHA. The agency has also deactivated the unique ID used to issue ABSBY cards.

The committee, which will submit its report in the coming days, is likely to recommend police action against the accused, who happens to be the owner of the common service centre.

Rs 5L benefit

• The Ayushman Bharat scheme has a benefit cover of Rs 5 lakh per year
• Ineligible beneficiary can allegedly get a fake insurance card for Rs 2,000