Senior Citizens Above 70 Years To Get Additional Top-Up Cover Of Rs 5 Lakh/Year For Themselves Under Ayushman Bharat

New Delhi: The health coverage for all citizens aged 70 years and above under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) is likely to be rolled out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 29, news Agency PTI quoting official sources said.

Senior citizens aged 70 and above belonging to families already covered under AB PM-JAY will get an additional top-up cover up to Rs 5 lakh per year for themselves. This additional amount is exclusively meant for them, which means, they will not have to share with the other members of the family who are below the age of 70 years.

All other senior citizens of the age 70 years and above will get a cover up to Rs 5 lakh per year on a family basis.

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana for the senior citizens will cover people over 70 years and above irrespective of their income status.

"The PM is likely to launch the expanded scheme under the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme for those aged 70 years and above. It will benefit an estimated six crore citizens in about 4.5 crore households," source told PTI.

Anyone aged 70 or above as per Aadhar card, will be eligible for applying for the scheme. It is an application-based scheme and people will need to register on the PMJAY portal or on the Ayushman app, PTI reported.

However, those already having the Ayushman card will need to again apply for a new card and complete their eKYC again.

Senior citizens aged 70 years and above, who are under private health insurance policies or Employees' State Insurance scheme, will be eligible to avail benefits under the scheme, officials had said earlier.

However, those already availing benefits of other public health insurance schemes such as the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) may either choose their existing scheme or opt for AB PM-JAY.