Health Marketing After ABDM: Why the ABHA ID Is Showing Up in Hospital and Insurer Campaigns

The ABHA ID is showing up in hospital and insurer campaigns because over 90 crore people now hold one, and it speeds up registration and claims. Hospitals use the ABHA ID to cut outpatient queues, and insurers were asked in 2023 to collect it on proposal forms and promote it online.

What an ABHA ID Gives a Patient

An ABHA ID gives a patient one 14-digit health number that links prescriptions, lab reports and discharge summaries from different hospitals and labs. ABHA stands for Ayushman Bharat Health Account.

The ID is part of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), launched in September 2021 and run by the National Health Authority (NHA). Anyone can create an abha id online with an Aadhaar number and an OTP (a one-time password sent to the linked mobile). A driving licence also works, with an extra check.

For a campaign, the pitch is short. One number replaces a bag of paper files, and the patient carries the history from one doctor to the next.

ABHA Accounts Created Each Year Since 2021

ABHA accounts grew from 14.7 crore in 2021 to more than 90 crore by May 2026, according to the Press Information Bureau. A July 2026 government release put the count above 93 crore, with over 104 crore health records linked.

The spread across states matters to a media plan. Uttar Pradesh alone has over 15.3 crore ABHAs, Rajasthan and Maharashtra have 7.1 crore each, and women hold 49.75% of all accounts.

The May 2026 release also credits hospitals, labs, insurers and health apps with driving this growth through their own channels. So an ABHA prompt inside a hospital or insurer journey is often part of how the count grew.

Why Health Insurers Ask for the ABHA Number

Health insurers ask for the ABHA number because IRDAI, the insurance regulator, advised them in June 2023 to collect it on health insurance proposal forms, including online forms. The same advisory asked insurers to get the customer's consent to share medical records with them or with TPAs (third-party administrators, firms that process claims for insurers).

Insurers were also asked to help buyers create the number through agents and to collect it from existing customers at renewal. A third request was a message on each insurer's website, with a link to register.

That website request is the reason an ABHA prompt can appear on a health insurance buying or renewal page. Creating the ID stays voluntary, and a buyer without one can still get a policy.

Leaders at five insurers welcomed the move when ET BFSI asked them in 2023. They said the ID could speed up claims and, over time, support products built around a person's medical history.

How NHCX Uses the ABHA ID in Cashless Claims

NHCX uses the ABHA ID to identify the patient, so the hospital can fetch policy details and send claim papers to the insurer digitally. NHCX stands for National Health Claims Exchange, a common claims network built under ABDM.

Mint reported one of the first claims processed through NHCX in July 2024. For a planned procedure at a hospital in Thane, the insurer fetched policy details using the patient's ABHA ID.

Pre-authorisation (the insurer's approval before treatment) came in 39 minutes, and the discharge approval in 49 minutes. The insurer then processed the claim of ₹45,345. Mint contrasted this with the usual process, where hospital staff fill claim forms by hand, scan papers and upload them to each insurer's portal.

The patient side is moving too. Aarogya Setu 2.0, launched on 29 June 2026, lets users create an ABHA, manage health records and view private insurance details through NHCX.

For insurer campaigns, the message is faster cashless approval. Claim times vary by hospital and insurer, so quote pilot numbers only as a past example.

Why Hospitals Put the ABHA QR Code at the OPD Counter

Hospitals put an ABHA QR code at the OPD (outpatient department) counter because it lets patients register in minutes without filling a form. The service is called Scan and Share, and the NHA launched it in October 2022.

The Scan and Share flow takes three steps at the counter.

1. The patient scans the hospital's QR code with the ABHA app or another linked health app.
2. Name, age, gender and ABHA number go straight to the hospital system.
3. A queue token comes back to the phone, and the patient skips the paper form.

A study by the Indian Institute of Health Management Research found that Scan and Share cut waiting time from about one hour to 2 to 5 minutes. By 18 June 2026, over 23.21 crore ABHA-linked tokens had been issued. In a June 2024 count, about 75% of tokens went to first-time users.

Money is the second reason. Under the Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS), the NHA pays hospitals and their software companies for Scan and Share transactions and for ABHA-linked digital records.

In a Press Information Bureau feature, a Gurugram pharmacy owner said registering on ABDM took about two hours. His pharmacy now earns an incentive for every health record it links.

Listing brings patients in as well. Once a facility enrols on the Health Facility Registry, patients can find it on the ABHA app. In June 2024 the NHA also announced Scan and Pay, for paying for tests and medicines by phone. Scan and Send was planned for sending prescriptions and lab reports.

For hospital marketers, the result is a message about time saved at the counter. A wait cut from an hour to a few minutes is concrete and easy to show on a poster or in a WhatsApp reminder.

Consent Rules for Every ABHA Message

Consent rules mean no hospital, insurer or app can see a patient's records through ABHA unless the patient agrees. The records stay with the hospital, lab or insurer that created them, and there is no central government server holding them.

Consent is time-bound and can be withdrawn. Insurers and TPAs also see medical records only after the policyholder agrees.

Private hospitals have one more layer. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 sets wider rules on notice, consent, security and grievance handling.

For marketers, this sets the tone of any ABHA message. Privacy worries can make people hold back, so a one-line consent note belongs next to every request to link an ABHA.

What ABHA Campaigns Should Say to Patients

ABHA campaigns should say what the ID does in plain words, with dates on every number. Each claim in an ad should match what the NHA and the ABDM portal say. These points follow from how the system works today.

• Call the ID voluntary. The official ABDM FAQ says it is not mandatory for every citizen to get an ABHA number.
• Lead with one concrete benefit, such as a shorter OPD queue for a hospital or faster cashless approval for an insurer.
• Say who holds the records and who can see them, in one line.
• Date every number. Counts such as 90 crore ABHAs change every month, so name the month and the publisher.
• Keep claim times as examples. A 39-minute approval from a 2024 pilot is a past result for one hospital.
  
  
  Frequently Asked Questions
  
  
  Is an ABHA ID mandatory for buying health insurance?

An ABHA ID is not mandatory for buying health insurance. Insurers may ask for it on the proposal form and help you create one, and you can still buy a policy without it.

Are the ABHA ID and the Ayushman card the same?

The ABHA ID and the Ayushman card are different. The Ayushman card is for AB PM-JAY, which gives poorer families free cover of Rs 5 lakh. The ABHA ID is a health record number any citizen can create.

How do I create an ABHA ID online?

An ABHA ID can be created on the ABHA portal or the ABHA app. Enter your Aadhaar number, verify the OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile, choose an ABHA address and download the card.

Can my insurer see my medical records through ABHA?

An insurer gets your medical records through ABHA after you approve the request. You can set how long access lasts and withdraw it later, and each request for your records is logged.

What is an ABHA address?

An ABHA address is a username, such as name@abdm, linked to your 14-digit ABHA number. Health record apps use it to log you in and to send or receive records with your consent.

Key Takeaways

• Over 90 crore ABHA IDs existed by May 2026. Hospitals, labs, insurers and health apps helped create them through their own channels.
• Hospitals promote ABHA to cut OPD queues. Scan and Share brought waits down from about an hour to a few minutes, and the DHIS pays for linked records.
• Insurers promote ABHA because of a June 2023 advisory. It asked them to capture the number on proposal forms and show a registration link on their websites.
• Consent belongs in every ABHA message. Records stay with whoever created them and move only when the patient agrees.