Ayushman Yojana : In a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, it was decided to include the elderly above 70 years of age in the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Under the scheme, the elder people above the age of 70 years will get free and cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh per year. Six crore elderly people living in four crore families will get the benefit of this scheme.
Registration under Ayushman Bharat
One just has to register itself on Ayushman Bharat to avail benefits. The registration process will be started soon. Railway, Information Technology and Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, while giving information about the cabinet decision, said that all the elderly above 70 years of age will be included in this scheme.
Total cover up to Rs 10 lakh
In the families which are already being covered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the elderly above 70 years of age will also be able to get separate treatment of Rs 5 lakh annually. That is, families who are already getting the benefit of Ayushman Yojana will now get a total cover of up to Rs 10 lakh. If there are two elderly people in a family, then this facility will be jointly available to both of them.
Free treatment facility under Ayushman Bharat
According to Ashwini Vaishnav, the elderly who are already getting free treatment under the scheme of the Center, State or any other government department will also get the option of taking treatment cover under Ayushman Bharat. If such elderly people want, they can leave the old cover of any treatment and avail the facility of treatment under Ayushman Yojana.
Rs 3437 crore allocated
The elderly covered for treatment under ESIC can also be covered under Ayushman Bharat. Not only this, the elderly who have taken health insurance from private insurance companies will also be able to avail the benefits of this scheme. Vaishnav said that at present Rs 3,437 crore has been allocated for this scheme, but the option to increase it will remain open if the demand increases.
Annual free and cashless treatment
It is worth noting that the Modi government launched the Ayushman Bharat scheme for 10.74 crore poor families across the country in 2017. Under this scheme, more than 55 crore poor people were given the benefit of free and cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh annually. The BJP had promised in its manifesto during the Lok Sabha elections to provide the benefits of this scheme to the elderly above 70 years of age. The cabinet has fulfilled this promise.l