Now all the elderly above 70 years of age will get the benefit of Ayushman Yojana, government announced

New Delhi: A big decision was taken in the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Now every elderly person above 70 years of age in the country will get the benefit of ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Ayushman Bharat’. There will be no distinction of poor or rich in this, but everyone will be brought under its purview.

Giving information about the decisions of the cabinet, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that this will be a new category under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Under this, the government will provide health insurance with free treatment facility of up to Rs 5 lakh to every elderly person above 70 years of age. Explaining the benefits of this scheme in detail, Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that this will be a universal health coverage for senior citizens above 70 years of age.

Currently, about 12.3 crore families are getting the benefit of Ayushman Bharat Yojana. About 4.5 crore families or say 6 crore senior citizens will benefit from the facility being started for the elderly. Families who are already a part of the Ayushman Bharat scheme, if even one person in their family is above 70 years of age, they will get an additional top-up of up to Rs 5 lakh per year. This will be a shared health cover. Families who are not currently covered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, senior citizens above 70 years of age will be included in it and they will get a shared cover of Rs 5 lakh every year.