Under the flagship Program Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), the Centre authorized on Wednesday health coverage for all elderly persons aged 70 and beyond, regardless of their socioeconomic background.

When announcing the Cabinet's decision to the public, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the move will help about 4.5 crore households and provide six (6) crore elderly folks with free health insurance coverage of five lakh rupees per family.

Furthermore, an extra top-up cover of up to ₹5 lakh per year would be given solely to the senior citizen for those who are currently protected by AB PM-JAY, without having to share it with other family members under the age of 70.

Seniors 70 years of age and over who are currently enrolled in other public health insurance programs like CGHS, ECHS, or Ayushman CAPF can choose to transfer to AB PM-JAY or stay with their current program.

Benefits under AB PM-JAY are still available to senior adults in this age range who are insured by Employees' State Insurance or private health insurance coverage.

Following the announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated in a post on X that the government is dedicated to ensuring that every Indian has access to high-quality, reasonably priced healthcare.

"In light of this, the Cabinet has agreed to extend the reach of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY in order to include health care for all individuals who are older than 70. Six crore persons would have security, care, and dignity thanks to this plan," PM Modi declared.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi first said in April 2024 that senior adults 70 years of age and above will now be covered.

The biggest publicly financed health insurance program in the world, AB PM-JAY, covers secondary and tertiary care hospitalization for up to Rs. 5 lakh per household annually for 55 million individuals, or 12.34 crore families. All family members are covered by the program, regardless of age, and it has already paid for 7.37 crore hospital stays; women make up 49% of the beneficiaries. Under the plan, the public has benefited to the tune of more than Rs 1 Lakh crore.