PM Modi Launches Health Cover Scheme for Senior Citizens; Check Eligibility, Docs and How to Apply

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a health coverage scheme for all citizens aged 70 years and above irrespective of ir income status under Ayushman Bharat Prhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) on Tuesday. As per sources, expanded scheme under Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme will benefit an estimated six crore citizens in about 4.5 crore households," source said.

Be it poor, middle class, upper middle class or rich, every individual who is 70 years and above is eligible for getting Ayushman card and will receive free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh at any of AB PMJAY empanelled hospitals once expanded scheme gets launched.

Features of Health Insurance Scheme for Senior Citizens

• Senior citizens aged 70 and above belonging to families alrey covered under AB PM-JAY will get an ditional top-up cover up to Rs 5 lakh per year for mselves (which y do not have to share with or members of family who are below age of 70 years).
• All or senior citizens of age 70 years and above will get a cover up to Rs 5 lakh per year on a family basis.
• health insurance scheme is being implemented in 33 states and Union territories currently except for Delhi, Odisha , and West Bengal. 
• Anyone aged 70 or above as per Ahaar card, will be eligible for applying for scheme.
• It is an application-based scheme and people will need to register on PMJAY portal or on Ayushman app, official sources said.
• Those alrey having Ayushman card will need to again apply for a new card and complete ir eKYC again, sources said.
• Senior citizens aged 70 years and above, who are under private health insurance policies or Employees' State Insurance scheme, will be eligible to avail benefits under scheme, officials h said earlier.
• Those senior citizens alrey availing benefits of or public health insurance schemes such as Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) may eir choose ir existing scheme or opt for AB PM-JAY.
• scheme has covered 7.37 crore hospital missions, including 49 per cent women beneficiaries. public has benefited to extent of over Rs 1 lakh crore under scheme, health ministry h said earlier.

AB PM-JAY scheme has witnessed continuous expansion of beneficiary base, it said, ding that initially, 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families comprising bottom 40 per cent of India's population were covered under scheme. Till September 1, 2024, a total of 29,648 hospitals, including 12,696 private hospitals, have been empanelled under PMJAY.

In January 2022, Centre revised beneficiary base from 10.74 crore to 12 crore families considering India's decal population growth of 11.7 per cent over 2011 population. scheme was furr expanded to cover 37 lakh ASHAs/AWWs/AWHs working across country and ir families for free healthcare benefits.

On Tuesday, PM is also scheduled to launch U-WIN portal developed for maintaining an electronic registry of routine immunisations, which is currently operational on a pilot basis.

U-Win platform, which is a replication of COVID-19 vaccine management system Co-WIN, has been developed to keep a permanent digital record of vaccination of pregnant women as well as children from birth up to age of 17 under Universal Immunization Programme.