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New Delhi, – In a significant boost to healthcare access for senior citizens, the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) has announced new updates allowing for cashless treatment at all empaneled hospitals across the country. This landmark move ensures that senior citizens and other eligible beneficiaries can receive treatment without worrying about immediate out-of-pocket expenses.
The AB-PMJAY, celebrated as the world’s largest publicly funded health assurance scheme, provides an annual health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. Covering 55 crore individuals, or approximately 12.34 crore families, the scheme aims to alleviate the financial burden of healthcare, ensuring no one is left behind due to economic constraints.
Under this scheme, treatment is provided free of charge based on the hospital’s diagnosis. Once the patient is discharged, the hospital then submits the claim for reimbursement. This process ensures that beneficiaries can focus solely on their recovery without the added stress of medical bills.
Initially, the scheme covered 10.74 crore beneficiary families, identified based on the Socio-economic Caste Census (SECC) of 2011, using specific deprivation and occupational criteria for rural and urban areas. In January 2022, the beneficiary base was expanded to include 12.34 crore families. States and Union Territories (UTs) now have the flexibility to use other digitized databases with similar socio-economic conditions to identify beneficiaries under the scheme. This includes the provision of Aadhaar-seeded databases of poor and vulnerable families for verification purposes.
The scheme is currently being implemented in 33 States and UTs, with the exceptions of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, West Bengal, and Odisha. Despite its broad reach, there is currently no proposal to extend the scheme beyond the existing beneficiary base on the contribution of premium.
Shri Prataprao Jadhav, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, shared these updates in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today. He highlighted the government’s commitment to ensuring accessible and affordable healthcare for all, particularly for the vulnerable sections of society.
With this new provision for cashless treatment at empaneled hospitals nationwide, the AB-PMJAY continues to pave the way for a healthier and more secure future for India’s senior citizens and other eligible beneficiaries.
For more details on the scheme and to check eligibility, beneficiaries are encouraged to visit the official AB-PMJAY website or contact their local health authorities.
