The Modi government at the Centre has given a big gift to the elderly. Now senior citizens aged 70 years and above will be able to get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakhs. Irrespective of the category they belong to. This scheme will benefit 6 crore elderly people. The special thing is that the income of the beneficiary of this scheme will not matter.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of projects worth more than Rs 12,850 crore related to the health sector in New Delhi. The schemes launched by PM Modi also include the name of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). Through this scheme, the elderly of the country are going to get a big health security cover. Now every elderly person aged 70 years and above will get health insurance. Free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh can be availed under this health insurance scheme. 6 crore citizens from about 4.50 crore families will come under the purview of the scheme. To avail the benefits of the scheme, registration has to be done on the Prime Minister Jan Arogya Portal or Ayushman App.
The National Health Authority (NHA) has given details about the scheme. The NHA Chief Executive Officer said that the Government of India has approved the benefit of AB-PMJAY. The main features of this scheme are that all senior citizens aged 70 years and above will get its benefits. Their socio-economic status will not matter in this. That is, whether they are poor, middle class or rich… they are eligible to get Ayushman card and can get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh in any listed hospital when the expanded scheme starts.
Senior citizens will get additional top-up for themselves
Those who already have an Ayushman card will have to re-apply for a new card and complete their EKYC again. Senior citizens aged 70 years and above belonging to families already covered under AB-PMJAY will get additional top-up cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per year for themselves. They will not have to share it with other family members. As of September 1, 2024, a total of 29,648 hospitals, including 12,696 private hospitals, have been listed under PMJAY.
Age will be determined from Aadhaar card
The age of the beneficiary will be determined based on the age recorded in the Aadhaar card. Aadhaar card will be the only document required for registration. Aadhaar-based E-KYC will be mandatory for registration and issuance of Ayushman cards for eligible senior citizens of both existing and new families. Beneficiaries of other central and state government health insurance schemes will be given the option to choose between their current scheme or the AB PM-JAY scheme to avoid duplication.
If you are taking advantage of other health insurance or private health insurance, you can still avail Rs 5 lakh annually under the new card of Ayushman Yojana. If any eligible senior citizen is a beneficiary of the Employees State Insurance Scheme, he will also be eligible to get benefits under the expanded scheme. An additional shared top up of up to Rs 5 lakh per year will be given to senior citizens aged 70 years and above in families already covered under the scheme.
A shared cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year will be available for senior citizens of families not currently covered under AB PM-JAY. This cover will be exclusively for senior citizens aged 70 years and above. The additional cost of covering senior citizens, including administrative expenses, will be shared between the Central and State Governments as per the existing guidelines for release of funds in AB PM-JAY.
Application based registration only
There will be only application-based registration for all eligible senior citizens. The registration will be a continuous process, allowing registration throughout the year. A separate module has been created in the mobile phone application (Ayushman App) and web portal (beneficial.nha.gov.in) for enrollment of senior citizens who wish to avail benefits under the scheme. Interested senior citizens will have to apply on this portal or app.
A unique Ayushman card will be issued to all eligible senior citizens aged 70 years and above for both existing and new families. For the implementation of the scheme, States and Union Territories will be required to facilitate enrollment of all eligible senior citizens aged 70 years and above.
There will be programs to raise awareness
According to the government, the states/union territories will have to launch a comprehensive campaign to raise awareness about the scheme extended to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above. This will include creating and distributing informative material, organising community outreach programmes and ensuring wide dissemination of information. Apart from this, all stakeholders including empanelled hospitals, local government bodies, healthcare providers and community organisations will have to be involved to successfully deliver the benefits of the scheme to eligible senior citizens.
