Bhubaneswar, October 31: Odisha has emerged as a leading performer in the country in the distribution of co-branded health cards and settlement of treatment claims under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana (GJAY).

This was revealed in a review meeting chaired by State Health Assurance Society (SHAS) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Gavali Parag Harshad.

After assuming charge as SHAS CEO recently, Harshad on Saturday reviewed the society's performance at a high-level meeting held at the SHAS conference hall in Toshali Bhawan here.

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Under PM-RAHAT, road accident victims, irrespective of their economic status, are entitled to free treatment of up to Rs 1.5 lakh for seven days, provided they are registered under the scheme within 24 to 48 hours of the accident. Even hospitals not empanelled under AB-PMJAY can provide treatment to eligible accident victims by logging into the HEM Lite portal. Applications are auto-approved, facilitating their admission and treatment under the scheme.

Available data show that while 3.46 crore people have been brought under the umbrella of universal health care scheme of ABPMJAY-GJAY so far, 3.45 lakh cards have been generated through online web portal of ABPMJAY, and 1.79 crore physical cards were distributed to the beneficiaries.

It was revealed that Odisha currently holds the first position nationally in the distribution of physical co-branded health cards. Individual cards are also being generated through Aadhaar-based e-KYC at Common Service Centres (CSCs), with the assistance of ASHA workers. Beneficiaries who do not possess physical co-branded cards can continue to avail themselves of healthcare services at empanelled hospitals by producing their ration or Aadhaar cards.

So far, 774 private hospitals across the State have been empanelled under the scheme, while efforts are underway to expedite the empanelment of government hospitals.

Odisha has also been a lead performer in pre-authorisation processing, settlement of claims against the treatment of beneficiaries, and portability claim settlement.

During the 18-month period from April 2025 to September 2026, a total of 22,13,702 treatment claims amounting to Rs 6,081.05 crore were processed and settled.

Dr Harshad asked senior officials to intensify field visits to strengthen fraud detection mechanisms and ensure speedy redressal of beneficiaries' grievances. He also stressed the need to sensitise empanelled hospitals about providing immediate medical treatment to road accident victims under the PM-RAHAT scheme.