PM To Launch Expansion Of Health Coverage For People Above 70 years Under AB PM-JAY On Oct 29

The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana offers Rs 5 lakhs free health insurance to 4.5 crore families and 6 crore senior citizens.

New Delhi: Coinciding the occasion of Dhanvantari Jayanti and 9th Ayurveda Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday will launch the expansion of health coverage to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above under the Central government's flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).

The Union Cabinet last month, approved health coverage to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above to provide health coverage to all senior citizens regardless of their income. The expansion of cover to senior citizens of the age of 70 years and above was earlier announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April.

The new initiative aims to provide free health insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakhs per family, benefiting around 4.5 crore families and six crore senior citizens.

The Enrollment

All senior citizens of the age 70 years and above irrespective of their socio-economic status would be eligible to avail the benefits of AB PM-JAY. The eligible senior citizens would be issued a new distinct card under AB PM-JAY. The senior citizens aged 70 years and above belonging to families already covered under AB PM-JAY will get an additional top-up cover up to Rs 5 lakhs per year for themselves (which they do not have to share with the other members of the family, who are below the age of 70 years).

All other senior citizens of the age 70 years and above will get a cover up to Rs 5 lakhs per year on a family basis. Senior citizens aged 70 years and above, who are already availing benefits of other public health insurance schemes such as Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) may either choose their existing scheme or opt for AB PMJAY. Senior citizens, who are under private health insurance policies or Employees’ State Insurance schemesm will be eligible to avail of benefits under AB PM-JAY.

AB PM-JAY

AB PM-JAY is the world’s largest publicly funded health assurance scheme, which provides health cover of Rs 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 55 crore individuals corresponding to 12.34 crore families. All members of the eligible families irrespective of age are covered under the scheme. The scheme has covered 7.37 crore hospital admissions, including 49 per cent women beneficiaries. The public has benefited to the extent of over Rs 1 lakh crore under the scheme.

Present Status

As of September 9, this year over 35.4 crore Ayushman cards have been issued under the AB-PMJAY across the country. The scheme is currently operational in 33 States and Union Territories (UTs) except the NCT of Delhi, West Bengal and Odisha.

Continuous expansion

The AB PM-JAY scheme has been witnessing tremendous growth in its beneficiary base. Initially covering 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families, the Government of India expanded this coverage in January 2022 to include 12 crore families, reflecting India’s 11.7% population growth since 2011.

In addition, the scheme was further extended to include 37 lakh Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs) and their families, providing them with free healthcare benefits. After the recent cabinet decision, AB PM-JAY is set to offer free healthcare coverage of Rs 5 lakhs to all citizens aged 70 and above across the country.