Earlier, the AB PM-JAY primarily covered the economically disadvantaged, but now it will cover citizens aged 70 years and above.
In a major policy shift, the Government of India has announced an extension in the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), and the health scheme would now cover citizens aged 70 years and above. With the move, the Centre is looking to make a massive change in India's public healthcare landscape by not offering its benefits with income-level restrictions. Now the scheme would offer health coverage to senior citizens, and tackle the concerns regarding rising medical costs amid growing healthcare needs.
With the expansion, there will be a coverage of ₹5 lakh per family offered annually, and it would certainly take off the burden, especially from a demographic that cannot manage healthcare scares due to unreliable social and financial security.
Meanwhile, for those caught unaware, AB PM-JAY earlier catered to the economically disadvantaged people, and covered 40% of the population. Now, with the government offering an extension, the Centre aims to bring an additional 6 crore individuals from over 4.5 crore families under its safety net.
The extension of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) will now have each beneficiary aged 70 and above receive a new health card, which means a streamlined access to healthcare benefits.
However, each member in the family, who is above 70 years of age, would not get the same coverage as it is shared within families. It means if there are multiple senior citizens in the same family, the ₹5 lakh coverage will be divided among them. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had earlier clarified how this scheme will witness a shift towards nuclear family units since in those cases, the financial burden on elderly individuals is higher.
Additionally, senior citizens, who are already enrolled in other public health insurance schemes like the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), or Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), will need to make a choice between their existing plans and the expanded AB PM-JAY. However, those who have earlier opted for private insurance or under the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme, can pick the extended coverage.
Coming to the rollout of this expanded coverage, the government would bear the initial cost of ₹3,437 crore, with states catering to 40% of the expenses. For hilly and northeastern states, the Centre will take care of 90% of the costs.
Nonetheless, with this expansion, which targets a growing elderly population, the government would have to bear the cost more, as compared to coverage of younger, economically weaker sections.
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