National Health Authority
Also called: NHA · Topic: Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-judicial Bodies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The National Health Authority (NHA) is the top agency that runs India's main public health assurance schemes. It works under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It runs AB PM-JAY, which pays for hospital treatment of eligible families, and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. Its main jobs are:
- adding hospitals to the scheme list (empanelment);
- checking and approving claims;
- enrolling beneficiaries through its portal (beneficiary.nha.gov.in) and the Ayushman App.
The NHA was not set up by an Act of Parliament. It is an executive body (created by a government decision, not by a law). This matters for exams because the government alone can change its shape and powers.
Example
The NHA runs Ayushman Vay Vandana. This scheme was launched on 29 October 2024 and covers every citizen aged 70 and above, whatever their income. By 20 October 2026, the NHA had approved 23.46 lakh hospital admissions worth ₹5,668.80 crore under it. Cataract surgery was the most common treatment.
Don't confuse with
- National Medical Commission: a statutory body under the NMC Act 2019. It regulates medical education and the medical profession, but it does not run insurance schemes or pay hospital claims.
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: the ministry makes health policy and is the parent ministry. The NHA is the agency that actually puts the schemes into practice.