Kumar Bahukhandi
New Delhi : Many important decisions were taken in the cabinet meeting. During the meeting it was decided to include all the elders above the age of 70 in the ‘Ayushman Yojana’.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that the aim of this decision is to benefit 6 crore senior citizens of 4.5 crore families with free health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh. The government said that a new separate card will be issued to the eligible beneficiaries under this scheme. After the cabinet meeting, Ashwini Vaishnav said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had committed that all senior citizens above the age of 70 would be given coverage under Ayushman Bharat PM Jan Arogya Yojana.
Senior citizens of families already covered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme will get an additional shared top-up cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per year. If senior citizens are currently covered under any central government health scheme, they will have the option to switch to Ayushman Bharat.
All senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status, will be eligible to avail the benefits of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). Eligible senior citizens will be issued a new separate card under AB PM-JAY.
All other senior citizens aged 70 years and above will get a cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per year on a family basis. Senior citizens aged 70 years and above who are already availing other public health insurance schemes like Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), Ayushman Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) can either choose their existing plan or opt for Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
