According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) official data, as on 17th November 2024, over 10 lakh senior citizens aged 70 and above have enrolled for the newly launched Ayushman Bharat: Vay Vandana Card (AB-VVC), which enables them to avail free healthcare benefits under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).
- This achievement comes within 3 weeks of the AB-VVC’s rollout by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on the occasion of Dhanvantari Jayanti and Ayurveda Day (29th October 2024) at the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in New Delhi, Delhi.
About AB- VVC:
i.AB-VCC is an expansion of AB PM-JAY, one of the key components of Ayushman Bharat (AB), a flagship scheme of Government of India (GoI), which aims to strengthen the idea of making healthcare accessible to all.
- Aim: To extend free healthcare benefits to nearly 6 crore senior citizens across 4.5 crore families.
ii.On 11th September 2024, the Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi approved AB-VVC, to ensure transformative health insurance coverage for senior citizens aged 70 and above.
iii.Eligible senior citizens will receive a new distinct card under AB PM-JAY to access the wide range of healthcare services at both government and private hospitals that are part of AB PM-JAY network.
Key Features:
i.All senior citizens of the age 70 years and above irrespective of their socio-economic status will receive health coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family.
ii.Senior citizens from families already covered under AB PM-JAY will receive an additional top-up of Rs 5 lakh exclusively for themselves, separate from the rest of the family.
- While, those who are not part of the existing scheme will receive Rs 5 Lakh per annum on a family basis.
iii.Senior citizens who are already enrolled in public health schemes such as Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), or Ayushman Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will have the option to either continue with their existing scheme or they can choose AB PM-JAY.
iv.Also, the senior citizens aged 70 and above, who are enrolled under private health insurance policies or Employees’ State Insurance(ESI) scheme will be eligible to avail the benefits of AB PM-JAY.
Key Progress:
i.Around 4 lakh women aged 70 and above have enrolled under the AB-VCC.
ii.So far, over Rs 9 crore have been authorised, which has benefitted over 4,800 senior citizens aged 70 and above, including more than 1,400 women.
iii.These treatments cover various conditions, including coronary angioplasty, hip fractures/replacement, gallbladder removal, cataract surgery, prostate resection, and stroke, among others.
Click Here to Read more about Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY
Key Progress of PM-JAY (As on 17th November 2024):
i.A total of 35,45,10,568 Ayushman cards have been created.
ii.So far, a total 6,50,59,465 hospital admissions have been authorised, with over 17 lakh admissions in the last 30 days and 28, 540 admissions (on 16th November 2024).
iii.At present, there are 30,745 empanelled hospitals, of which 17,084 are public institutions and remaining 13,661 are private institutions.
iv.The total value of authorised admissions amounts to around Rs 82,000 crore.
About Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW):
Union Minister- Jagat Prakash Nadda (Rajya Sabha – Gujarat)
Minister of State (MoS)- Anupriya Patel(Constituency- Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, UP); Jadhav Prataprao Ganpatrao (Constituency- Buldhana, Maharashtra)
