AB PM-JAY to Cover All Senior Citizens Aged 70+ With Rs 5 Lakh Top-Up Annually

New Delhi, 12th September 2024: The Union Cabinet has approved a significant expansion of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) on Wednesday, extending health coverage to all senior citizens aged 70 and above, regardless of income. This move is expected to benefit 4.5 crore families.

Here are the key details of this development:

1. All senior citizens aged 70 and older, irrespective of their socio-economic status, will now be eligible for benefits under AB PM-JAY.
2. Seniors in this age group who are already part of AB PM-JAY will receive an additional top-up cover of up to ₹5 lakh per year specifically for themselves, without sharing this cover with younger family members.
3. Seniors already covered by other public health insurance schemes, such as the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), and Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), can either retain their current coverage or switch to AB PM-JAY.
4. Those with private health policies or Employees’ State Insurance Scheme coverage are also eligible for the AB PM-JAY benefits.
5. AB PM-JAY is the largest publicly funded health assurance scheme globally, offering ₹5 lakh coverage per family annually for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization, benefiting 55 crore people across 12.34 crore families.