Explainer: How you can register your parents for Ayushman Scheme, know every important thing

New Delhi: Now people aged 70 years and above can now avail the benefits of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). The government has opened this scheme to everyone, irrespective of their income. Earlier this scheme was only for certain types of people like poor families and Asha workers. Under this scheme, every family gets health insurance up to Rs 5 lakh every year, through which they can get treatment in big hospitals. If your age is 70 years or more, then you can apply for Ayushman Bharat Senior Citizen Scheme at www. You can apply on beneficiary.nha.gov.in website or Ayushman app (download from Google Play Store). You just have to verify your identity and information using your Aadhaar card. The Aadhaar card verifies your age and state, and that’s all you need to complete the registration.

This is also an option

If the elderly cannot register themselves, their families can register them through ‘Beneficiary Login’ by visiting the mobile app or website. They just have to enter their mobile number and start registration by entering OTP. You can also go to the nearest hospital and get registered.

Is Ayushman Bharat a free scheme?

Ayushman Bharat is a completely free scheme. The government says that money is given directly to hospitals in exchange for treatment. All the hospitals included in this scheme will have to provide free treatment to the needy people. If you are denied treatment at any hospital, you can lodge a complaint on the AB PM-JAY website, by calling 14555, by email, or by fax. Complaints regarding refusal of treatment are taken seriously and resolved within 6 hours.

Aadhaar verification required

Those who have already applied for AB-PMJAY will have to verify their Aadhaar again for registration in the Senior Citizen Scheme. This work can be done on the website or mobile app. The list of hospitals included in AB-PMJAY scheme can be seen on the website www.dashboard.pmjay.gov.in.

As of September 30, about 30,000 hospitals across the country are included in the scheme, which is run by the National Health Authority. These also include 190 big hospitals like Center for Sight (Delhi), Medanta-The Medicity (Gurugram), Metro Hospital and Heart Institute (Noida), Fortis Escorts Hospital (Jaipur), Yashoda Super Specialty Hospital and Heart Institute (Ghaziabad).

• According to the Indian Constitution, health and hospitals come under the state governments. Therefore, the inclusion of hospitals in the AB-PMJAY scheme is done by the state health agencies.
• Beneficiaries can go to any empaneled hospital and get treatment by showing their Ayushman card or PMJAY ID.
• Before visiting the hospital, the beneficiary should confirm whether the hospital is empaneled for the treatment of the particular disease for which they require assistance.

Why is this scheme beneficial?

Government sources said that almost all the treatments covered under the scheme cost less than Rs 2 lakh and hence the cover of Rs 5 lakh is enough to meet the healthcare needs of the beneficiaries. Additionally, under the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) scheme, patients from poor families – who are eligible for PM-JAY – are provided financial assistance of up to Rs 15 lakh to enable them to undergo the treatments covered under PM-JAY. Not covered under JAY. Therefore, AB PM-JAY along with other central government schemes can take care of the hospitalization needs of the eligible beneficiaries.

Is the scheme not applicable in these states?

Delhi, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal have not yet implemented AB PM-JAY. Since these states are not implementing the scheme, senior citizens cannot join AB PM-JAY or avail its benefits.