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Hailing the union cabinet's decision to further expand the ambit of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that no one to date has thought about the 70-year-old.
"In yesterday's cabinet decision, PM Modi under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana decided to give the 70-year-old people medical insurance worth Rs 5 lakhs. So, first of all, on behalf of the Goa government and the people of Goa, I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi because to date no one has thought about the 70-year-old people...I think this is a big relief for the elderly," said the Chief Minister. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved health coverage to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above irrespective of income under the flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). It will benefit approximately 4.5 crore families with six (6) crore senior citizens with 5 lakh rupees free health insurance cover on a family basis. With this approval, all senior citizens of the age 70 years and above irrespective of their socio-economic status, would be eligible to avail the benefits of AB PM-JAY. The eligible senior citizens would be issued a new distinct card under AB PM-JAY. The senior citizens aged 70 years 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 (which they do not have to share with the other members of the family who are below the age of 70 years). AB PM-JAY is the world's largest publicly funded health assurance scheme, which provides health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 55 crore individuals, corresponding to 12.34 crore families. All members of the eligible families, irrespective of age, are covered under the scheme. The scheme has covered 7.37 crore hospital admissions, including 49 percent of women beneficiaries. The public has benefitted to the extent of over Rs. 1 lakh crore under the scheme. 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. Senior citizens of the age 70 years and above who are already availing benefits of other public health insurance schemes such as the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), and the and the Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) may either choose their existing scheme or opt for AB PMJAY. It has been clarified that senior citizens of 70 years and older who are under private health insurance policies or the Employees' State Insurance scheme will be eligible to avail benefits under AB PM-JAY, the press release stated. The expansion of coverage to senior citizens of the age of 70 years and above was earlier announced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in April 2024. (ANI)
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