Senior citizens aged 70 years and above in India, irrespective of income, can avail free health insurance cover up to Rs 5 lakh on a family basis under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) scheme.
Eligible senior citizens can benefit from issuing a new distinct card under AB PM-JAY. They will get an additional top-up cover up to Rs 5 lakh per year for themselves, but they cannot share this with other members of their family who are below 70 years of age.
Senior citizens, those 70 years and above, already enjoying the benefits of other schemes such as the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) can opt for AB PM-JAY.
The Union Cabinet described this scheme as the world’s largest publicly funded health insurance policy. It provides health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to millions of citizens of India. The scheme has so far covered 7.37 crore hospital admissions, including 49 percent women.
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India has recorded continuous expansion of the beneficiary based under the AB PM-JAY scheme. 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families, which made up the bottom 40 percent of the country’s population, were initially covered under the scheme.
The government revised the beneficiary base under the AB PM-JAY scheme in 2022 to cover 12 crore families. It took into consideration India’s decadal population growth of 11.7 percent over its 2011 population.
The scheme was then expanded to cover ASHAs, AWWs, and AWHs working across India (about 37 lakh) and their families to reap the benefits of free healthcare.
