Ayushman Bharat-Chief Minister Health Insurance Scheme

It is a flagship health insurance scheme which provides health cover (Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year in secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to over 12 crore poor and vulnerable families)

Financial Benefits:

Cashless Treatment: Eligible beneficiaries can get medical services from network hospitals with no upfront payment.

Wide Coverage: The package includes the most extensive medical treatments from surgeries, hospitalization, medicines, and diagnostics

Less Financial Stress: The scheme alleviates the financial stress of families in case of medical emergencies by providing free healthcare.

Accessibility to Good Medical Care:

All India Access — Beneficiary  can avail benefits at an empanelled hospital across the country.

Monitoring And Evaluation: The scheme set high quality standards for the health service delivery.

Expanded Access: It enhances access to quality healthcare services, which is particularly beneficial for marginalized and vulnerable populations.

Social Benefits:

Lower poverty: due to lower health expenditure, the beneficiaries can be push out from poverty and they can live in a more healthy way with good wealth.

Empowers: Ensures that people, especially women can seek timely health care service freely without putting their hands in the pockets.

Social Equity- The scheme will maintain social equity among the two healthcare sectors.

Additional Benefits:

Age Limit: The age limit for an eligible man or woman to benefit from the scheme has now been removed.

Portability: Well, Beneficiaries can avail health facilities at any hospital empaneled with the scheme across the country.

                                   In sum, Ayushman Bharat scheme is a attractively ambitious step towards the road of universal health coverage in India. The scheme acts as a safety net for many millions of poor and vulnerable families, through financial coverage and access to quality healthcare services at the time of medical emergencies.

Eligibility to take benefit of Ayushman Bharat scheme

Families deemed economically vulnerable, according to SECC 2011, are the core beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat scheme. This includes:

Rural Areas:

Families Below the Poverty Level

Scheduled Castes (SC)

Scheduled Tribes (ST)

People who are experiencing serious socio-economic problems

Urban Areas:

Families living in slums

Manual scavengers

Beggars

Landless labourers

Other vulnerable groups

Recent Expansion:

Notably, on September 11, 2024, the Union Cabinet gave its node for the expansion of Ayushman Bharat scheme. This expansion allows all elderly individuals over the age of 70 to benefit from the plan, regardless of their financial situation. It implies that almost 4.5 crore families will have free health insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh per family for around 6 crore senior citizens.

You can check if you are eligible through the ‘Am I Eligible’ section of the official Ayushman Bharat website or by visiting a local government office.