New Delhi: The Union Cabinet Wednesday approved the expansion of the Narendra Modi-led government’s flagship health scheme—Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY)—to all Indian citizens aged 70 and above, adding nearly six crore people to the list of beneficiaries.
Under the scheme, cashless hospitalisation benefit of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year is offered for secondary and tertiary healthcare services in empanelled hospitals. The government said in a statement that the move will benefit approximately 4.5 crore families with six crore senior citizens.
For the expansion, the government has approved an additional financial outlay of Rs 3,437 crore. The scheme, currently aimed at aiding 12.3 crore beneficiaries, had been allocated Rs 5,400 crore in the current financial year.
With the latest approval, all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status, would be eligible to avail the benefits of AB PM-JAY, which was first rolled out in 2018.
The eligible senior citizens will be issued a new distinct card under the scheme.
Those belonging to families already covered under Ayushman Bharat will get an additional top-up cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per year for themselves, which they do not have to share with other members of the family below the age of 70.
Those already availing benefits of other public health insurance schemes, such as Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), or Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), may either choose their existing scheme or opt for AB PM-JAY.
The government has also clarified that those in the 70 and above age group, who are covered under private health insurance policies or Employees’ State Insurance scheme (ESIC) will be eligible to avail benefits under the scheme.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, in its election manifesto ahead of the Lok Sabha polls this year, had proposed to expand the beneficiary base of the scheme to all those above 70.
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