14 Million Ayushman Vay Vandana Cards Issued for Seniors Aged 70 and Above in Just One Month: Government
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New Delhi, Nov 29 (NationPress) Around 14 million Ayushman Vay Vandana cards have been issued for senior citizens aged 70 years and older since the program was launched a month ago, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav revealed in a written response in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
On October 29, the Union government broadened the Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to provide free treatment coverage of up to 5 lakh per year on a family basis for all senior citizens aged 70 years and above. This coverage is available to seniors regardless of their socio-economic standing.
The initiative is anticipated to benefit approximately 4.5 crore families and 6 crore individuals aged 70 years and older throughout the nation.
As of November 25, around 14 million Ayushman Vay Vandana cards have been generated for eligible senior citizens under this initiative, Jadhav noted.
The projected expenditure for this initiative is Rs 3,437 crore, with an expected central share expenditure of Rs 2,165 crore likely to be incurred during the Financial Year 2024-25 and 2025-26, according to the Ministry.
A total of 29,870 hospitals are registered under the scheme, including 13,173 private hospitals.
This flagship initiative offers cashless healthcare services for 1,961 procedures spanning 27 medical specialties, such as general medicine and general surgery. Individuals of all ages facing issues related to bones, heart, and cancer can also access these benefits.
Treatment options available to eligible seniors include hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, acute ischemic stroke, accelerated hypertension, total hip replacement, total knee replacement, PTCA, along with diagnostic angiograms, and permanent pacemaker implantations, among other services, as per the ministry.
Moreover, states have been granted the flexibility to further tailor the health benefit packages to suit local needs.
