New Delhi: The central government on Wednesday decided to bring all people above the age of 70 under the health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat. Now all people aged 70 years and above will be included under this scheme, irrespective of their financial status.

Additional coverage of Rs 5 lakh

The cabinet approved free health coverage for all senior citizens aged 70 years and above under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). The elderly will get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. If a family is already included in Ayushman and there is a member above 70 years of age in it, then additional coverage of Rs 5 lakh will be available.

The Union Cabinet has approved extending Ayushman health insurance coverage to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that this move will benefit 4.5 crore families.

The aim of this coverage is to benefit six crore senior citizens from 4.5 crore families with a 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.

Who will get the benefit

Senior citizens above 70 years of age who are already availing benefits of other public health insurance schemes like Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and Ayushman Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) can either choose their existing plan or opt for AB PMJAY.

The world's largest health plan

It has been 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 receive benefits under AB PM-JAY. AB PM-JAY is the world's largest publicly funded health assurance scheme, providing health cover of up to Rs 5 lakh to 55 crore people from 12.34 crore families.