New Delhi
Some time ago, the Central Government made important changes in the Ayushman Bharat Scheme by expanding it. Elderly people above 70 years of age have also been included in the scheme. The figures that have come out just a week after this change are encouraging. In just one week, more than 2 lakh elderly people have joined this scheme.
Over 2.16 lakh new beneficiaries above 70 years of age have received cards under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) within the first week of launching the extended version of the flagship health insurance scheme.
Highest registration from Kerala
According to data available with the National Health Authority till November 7, the highest number of new beneficiaries have registered under the expanded version from Kerala, where around 89,800 cards have been issued for the elderly. Incidentally, this state is among those which are projected to have the highest proportion of elderly citizens in the next decade. By 2031, the number of people above 60 years of age in Kerala is expected to increase to 20.9%.
In the list of new elderly beneficiaries, after Kerala comes the states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh from where 53,000 and 47,000 elderly people respectively are connected to the scheme. The number of people from states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu is less. In the last one week, 3488 elders from Andhra Pradesh, 3056 from Telangana and 3156 from Tamil Nadu have joined this scheme.
Elderly people of Bengal and Delhi will not be able to avail benefits due to this reason
These figures do not include AAP-ruled Delhi and TMC-ruled West Bengal, which have opted out of the scheme. While rolling out the extended version on October 29, the Prime Minister had expressed regret that senior citizens in these two states have been left out of it.
However, the AAP-ruled government of Punjab has implemented the extended version. A senior official here said that the state has issued 5,697 new cards to the elderly last week, which is included in the top ten list.
Let us tell you that Ayushman Bharat Yojana was launched for the first time in the year 2018, which is the world’s largest health insurance program. Under this scheme, people get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh annually. Recently, the Central Government has expanded the scheme to include all senior citizens aged 0 years and above.
purpose of government
The latest initiative of the central government aims to benefit about 4.5 crore families comprising 6 crore senior citizens. Under the extended version, all people aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their income, will be entitled to a cover of Rs 5 lakh.
Those who already have an Ayushman card will have to reapply for a new card and complete their EKYC again. Senior citizens aged 70 years and above belonging to families already covered under AB-PMJAY will get an additional top-up cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per year for themselves. They will not have to share it with other family members.
