Centre to roll out senior citizen health cover scheme within a week
The Hindu
Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana to provide free health coverage for senior citizens aged 70+ by the government.
The Central government will roll out health coverage to all senior citizens aged 70 and above under the flagship scheme, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), within a week, said a senior Health Ministry official on Thursday (September 12, 2024) following the Cabinet clearing the decision a day before.
He said anyone aged 70 or above with per Aadhaar card would be eligible for applying under the scheme and that initially there would be a pilot launch to sort out any issues that might arise. “It is an application-based scheme. People will need to register on the portal. The facility of face authentication is available on the portal, which will have a designated link for senior citizens 70+ aged,” he said
The scheme aims to benefit approximately 4.5 crore families with six crore senior citizens and ₹5 Lakh free health insurance cover on a family basis.
The Health Ministry said there would be no waiting period, no cooling off period and that once eKYC was done, card would be operational for use immediately.
The Centre would continue to fund its share of the scheme (60%). If States expanded the scheme or modified it to include other age groups, it was up to them.
“Those already having the Ayushman card will need to again apply for a new card and complete their eKYC again. Those having private insurance and ESIC beneficiaries can also apply for the AB PM-JAY scheme,” the official said.
He said the probability of 70+ age group people going to the hospital was higher than the rest of the population. Private insurance was difficult to obtain for such old-age people. “The Centre will work towards adding more packages that exclusively tend to geriatric care (old age-related ailments). This scheme is also expected to help women further as 58% of 70+ age people are women, 54% of them being widows,” the official explained.
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