Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expanded the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme on Tuesday and made it completely universal to all the senior citizens who are of seventy years and above. The decision will cover hospital expenses under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) to be awarded health benefits up to Rs 5 lakh.
To avail the scheme, the concerned seniors shall be issued a unique permanent Ayushman Vay Vandana Card. But PM Modi said that people of Delhi and West Bengal could not join the health insurance scheme as state governments of both the places have not implemented Ayushman Bharat due to some political reasons. “Political prilig routing has been a barrier to its deployment to your states,” Modi said, to the older generation in these regions who cannot benefit from the provisions.
From the government release it was proposed that this extension will ensure that all elderly citizens have an opportunity to receive health care at an agreed fee regardless of their income status. For the purpose of this paper, the two members of the Indian family whose premium is reimbursed under PM-JAY will avail the mentioned cover – the high-risk senior citizen without comorbidities – at any of the empaneled hospitals of PM-JAY irrespective of the economic status of the family.
The Ayushman Bharat scheme was initially stated to benefit 10.74 crore families belonging to the Low and middle income earning families with major focus on Bottom 40 % income holders. Till last year, the government planned to provide LPG connections to 8 crore families, but the figure has been raised in January 2022 to 12 crore families because India’s population growth is observed 11.7% from 2011.
Ayushman Bharat has been serving India’s lower-income earner’s group since its launch, and this move is going to add even more to the list of beneficiaries. Speaking about the scheme, Modi said, “Ayushman Bharat is for everyone who is of 70 years or more, whether one is a poor man or a wealthy man, whether one is man or woman, whether one is a doctor or a lawyer, everybody gets free treatment at the empanelled hospital.”
Accordingly, the government pin hopes on this extension in improving the quality of life of senior citizens throughout India given increasing complications in the health care needs of elderly citizens.
