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Health Insurance Scheme: The ministry clarified that senior citizens aged 70 years and above who are covered under private health insurance policies or the Employees' State Insurance Scheme will be eligible for benefits under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).
Under Ayushman Bharat Yojana, elderly people will get free treatment for these serious diseases, know how to avail the benefit
Health Insurance Scheme for Senior Citizens: Beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat Yojana can avail cashless and paperless treatment at over thousands of empanelled hospitals across the country.
Ayushman Bharat Yojana is the government's ambitious health insurance scheme under which lakhs of people are getting free treatment. Under this scheme, now all the elderly above the age of 70 years will also get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. Irrespective of their financial condition, they can avail the benefits of this scheme. The Union Cabinet has taken this decision with the aim of benefiting about four and a half crore families comprising six crore senior citizens.
These serious diseases will be treated for free
Cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, cataract, dengue, malaria, chikungunya and many other critical illnesses are treated free of cost under this scheme. Major surgeries like prostate cancer, knee and hip replacement for the elderly, pediatric surgery, skull base surgery, neurosurgery, etc. are also covered under this scheme.
Beneficiaries of this scheme can avail cashless and paperless treatment in thousands of listed hospitals across the country.
Separate health coverage for senior citizens up to Rs 5 lakh
If a family already has an Ayushman card holder and there is an elderly person above 70 years of age in that family, then that elderly person will also get additional health coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh separately. This scheme has made the lives of millions of people easier, freeing them from financial burden.
Health coverage expected to start within a week
Health coverage for all senior citizens aged 70 years and above under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) is expected to start within a week. Around six crore senior citizens will benefit from this scheme. This information was given by official sources. Sources said that this is an 'application' based scheme for which people will have to register on the PMJAY portal or Ayushman app.
According to the official source, anyone aged 70 years or above, irrespective of their income, will be eligible to apply for the scheme. “Those who already have an Ayushman card will have to apply for a new card again and complete their e-KYC again,” the source said.
The official source said, “There is no waiting period. Once the e-KYC is done, the card will start being used…” The source added, “If states want to extend or amend the scheme, it is up to them.”
The ministry clarified that senior citizens aged 70 years and above who are covered under private health insurance policies or the Employees' State Insurance Scheme will be eligible to get benefits under AB PM-JAY. However, the statement said that those who are already covered under other public health insurance schemes like Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and Ayushman Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will not be eligible to apply for the scheme. Those who are availing benefits can choose either their existing scheme or AB PM-JAY.