Ayushman Bharat health insurance for senior citizens: Eligibility, benefits, how to apply

Ayushman Bharat health insurance for senior citizens: In a bid to benefit 4.5 crore families, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved health coverage to all senior citizens of the age 70 years and above irrespective of income under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). It will benefit 4.5 crore families with 6 crore senior citizens with a Rs 5 lakh free health insurance cover on an annual basis. Eligible senior citizens would be issued a new distinct card under the scheme.

The senior citizens of age 70 years and above belonging to families already covered under the scheme will get an additional top-up cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per year for themselves (which they do not have to share with the other members of the family who are below the age of 70 years).

All other senior citizens of the age 70 years and above will get a cover up to Rs 5 lakh per year on a family basis. Senior citizens aged 70 years and above who are already availing benefits of other public health insurance schemes such as the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), and the Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) may either choose their existing scheme or opt for Ayushman Bharat. 

It has been clarified that senior citizens of 70 years and older who are under private health insurance policies or the Employees' State Insurance scheme will be eligible to avail benefits under Ayushman Bharat. 

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana: Eligibility criteria

• Applicants must belong to specified categories:
• SC/ST
• Lower Income Group
• Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)

Rural:

• SC/ST
• Beggars and those surviving on alms
• Families with no individuals aged between 16 and 59 years
• Families having at least one physically challenged member and no able-bodied adult member
• Landless households who make a living by working as casual manual labourers
• Primitive tribal communities
• Legally released bonded labourers
• Families living in one-room makeshift houses with no proper walls or roof
• Manual scavenger families

Urban:

• Urban workers' families in occupational categories present in the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011
• Families enrolled under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)

How to check eligibility online:

• Go to the official website
• Click on the "Am I Eligible" section
• Enter mobile number and captcha code, then click "Generate OTP"
• Enter OTP and click "Verify OTP"
• Furnish essential information and click "Submit"

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana: How to Apply 

• Visit the official website
• Get your Aadhaar card or ration card verified at a PMJAY kiosk
• Provide family identification proofs
• Get your e-card printed with a unique AB-PMJAY ID

Ayushman Bharat is the world's largest publicly funded health assurance scheme, which provides health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to 55 crore individuals, corresponding to 12.34 crore families.

All members of the eligible families, irrespective of age, are covered under the scheme.

The scheme has covered 7.37 crore hospital admissions, including 49 per cent of women beneficiaries. The public has benefited to the extent of over Rs. 1 lakh crore under the scheme.

The Ayushman Bharat scheme has witnessed a continuous expansion of the beneficiary base.

Initially, 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families comprising the bottom 40 per cent of India's population were covered under the scheme.

Later, the government, in January 2022, revised the beneficiary base from 10.74 crore to 12 crore families, considering India's decadal population growth of 11.7 per cent over the 2011 population. 

The scheme was further expanded to cover 37 lakh ASHAs/AWWs/AWHs working across the country and their families for free healthcare benefits. 

(with inputs from ANI)