Health ministry suspends compulsory linking of CGHS and ABHA ID's

Experts suggest data privacy concerns, lack of tech infra may have led to decision

The compulsory linking of Central Government Health Services (CGHS) beneficiary ID with Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) ID has been put on hold until further notice by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
 

The ministry said it had reviewed its earlier orders and linking the two IDs  was made optional until further orders, according to an office memorandum signed by Satheesh YH, director, CGHS.
 

Queries sent to the health ministry remained unanswered till the time of going to press.
 

Experts suggest that while the linkage intended to integrate various government health schemes under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), there were practical issues that may have led to the decision.
 

The health ministry had earlier made it mandatory for all CGHS beneficiaries to link their beneficiary ID and ABHA ID through an order in April this year. The order was scheduled to come into force from April 1, but was later extended till June 30.  
 

While the CGHS scheme provides comprehensive health care services to central government employees, pensioners, and their dependent family members, ABHA ID is a 14-digit number that uniquely identifies a beneficiary in India's digital health care ecosystem. All citizens can open and operate an ABHA account.
 

Currently, more than 4.5 million people and 75 cities are covered under CGHS scheme, of which only 231,134 CGHS ID’s had been linked with ABHA ID till June 26, according to information available on the CGHS dashboard.
 

Highlighting the issues with mandatory linking of CGHS and ABHA ID’s, Sunil Rao, chief operating officer (COO), Sahyadri Group of Hospitals, said that data privacy concerns and the current state of technology infrastructure might have led to the decision to keep the order in abeyance.
 

Speaking on privacy concerns, an expert said on the condition of anonymity that the government had not made it explicitly clear how digital records would be protected. “While the government has stated that records stored under ABHA ID are properly encrypted and would be protected under provisions of the Digital Protection of Data and Privacy Act, there is no specific guideline to point out the same,” the expert added.
 

Calling the move a balanced approach, Rao said that making the linking voluntary will allow some time to address data security and system integration issues, which will ensure that when the policy is implemented, it is with full preparedness and broad acceptance.
 

“To guarantee infrastructural readiness and public receptiveness, the government will assess the implementation strategy and seek feedback from relevant stakeholders”, he added.