Free medical treatment to all citizens above age 70 under Ayushman Bharat Scheme: President Murmu

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu announced on Thursday that all citizens aged above 70 years will be provided free treatment under the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.

The opening of 25,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras in the country is also progressing at a fast pace, she said while addressing the joint sitting of Parliament.

As per the PTI report, under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), free health services are being provided to 55 crore beneficiaries, Murmu said.

The AB-PMJAY, the largest publicly funded health insurance scheme in the world, aims to provide health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 12 crore families.  

Hospital Empanelment and Management (HEM) guidelines for empanelment of hospitals under AB-PMJAY mandates the State Health Agencies (SHAs) with the responsibility of empanelling hospitals under the scheme, news agency PTI reported.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that Narendra Modi's new government's 100-day agenda for the Union health ministry includes major initiatives such as expanding the Ayushman Bharat coverage to everyone aged above 70 years and rolling out the U-WIN portal to digitise routine vaccinations of children and pregnant women. In a brief interaction with senior officials after taking charge of the ministry, J P Nadda, who is also the BJP president, asked them to focus on the agenda, sources said.