How will all the elderly aged 70 years and above get benefit under Ayushman Yojana, know every thing

New Delhi : Preparations have begun to provide free health insurance benefits of up to Rs 5 lakh to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). The Union Cabinet took this decision a day ago and now the Union Health Ministry has started preparations to implement this decision on the ground. Health Secretary Apoorva Chandra says that the pilot run will start within a week and the senior citizens above 70 years of age who come under the purview of this scheme will be given a special card. he/she said that 6 crore senior citizens from 4.5 crore families will benefit from this scheme. Online cards can be generated by applying through the online portal of the National Health Authority or the Ayushman app.

1. How will age be calculated in this scheme?
   This scheme will be application based and the elderly will have to apply for the special card through the Ayushman app or portal. Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra said that the age will be assessed from the date of birth given in the Aadhaar card. If the elderly is 70 years old based on the date of birth written in the Aadhaar card, then all of them will now get the benefit of this scheme, whatever their income may be, this is a new scope. The Health Ministry says that about 30 thousand hospitals are empanelled in the Jan Arogya Yojana across the country, out of which 13 thousand are private and 17 thousand are government hospitals. In all these hospitals, the patient will get the facility of free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh in case of admission.
2. What will the senior citizens already enrolled in the scheme have to do to avail the benefits of the new scheme?
   The elderly people above 70 years of age who are already registered in this scheme will have to apply again for the special card. In this way, they will be able to take more advantage of this scheme. They will now get an additional top-up cover of Rs 5 lakh, this additional insurance cover will not be applicable to the persons below 70 years of age in that family.
3. If both husband and wife in the family are 70+ then how much insurance benefit will they get?
   If both the husband and wife in that family are above 70 years of age, then both of them will get the benefit of top up. First, treatment will be done at the cost of up to five lakh rupees and after that there will be a top up of five lakh rupees. At the same time, the elderly who get new registration done will get the benefit of free treatment of five lakh rupees. This scheme was implemented in 2018.
4. Where is this scheme not applicable right now?
   Right now this scheme is not applicable in three states. This scheme is not applicable in Delhi, West Bengal and Odisha. However, the Odisha government has started talks with the ministry officials regarding the Ayushman scheme. Very soon the people of Odisha will also start getting the benefits of this scheme. In this scheme, 60 percent share is of the central government and 40 percent of the state government. At the same time, if the state government wants, it can also increase health facilities for the people on its own.
5. How will this special card be made?
   You will have to visit the official website of Ayushman Bharat Yojana pmjay.gov.in or https://beneficiary.nha.gov.in. Application can be made on the basis of date of birth in the Aadhar card. There will be a separate window for special card on this portal. Along with this, you can also apply through Ayushman app by downloading it from Google Play Store. This app will have a separate feature through which application can be made. New card will be generated after e-KYC option. Application can also be made through the official website of Ayushman Bharat Yojana pmjay.gov.in or https://beneficiary.nha.gov.in.
6. Will senior citizens with private insurance and ESIC also be eligible for this scheme?
   Senior citizens who have private insurance or who are covered under the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) will also be eligible for this scheme. However, those covered under schemes like CGHS, Ex Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) have the option to either keep the old scheme or join the Ayushman Bharat Yojana scheme.
7. After how many years can the package rates increase in this scheme?
   The package rate in this scheme may increase after 6 years, for this the government has received the report of Dr. V.K. Paul Committee. The Health Ministry has made preparations to add more and more hospitals in this scheme, improve the package system, implement major reforms like early payment of hospital bills. Insurance coverage will be increased in this scheme.