Context:

The Union Cabinet has approved health coverage for all senior citizens aged 70 years and above under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), regardless of their income. 

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Benefits for Senior Citizens

• With this approval, all senior citizens aged 70 and above, regardless of their socio-economic status, will be eligible to avail themselves of the benefits under AB PM-JAY. 
• This move is set to benefit approximately 4.5 crore families, encompassing six crore senior citizens, with a free health insurance cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year. 
• Eligible senior citizens will receive a new distinct card under the scheme. 
• Those belonging to families already covered under AB PM-JAY will get an additional top-up cover of ₹5 lakh per year, exclusively for themselves. 
• All other senior citizens aged 70 and above will receive a cover of up to ₹5 lakh per year on a family basis.

Option to Choose Between Schemes

• Senior citizens who are currently beneficiaries of other public health insurance schemes like the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), and Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) can either continue with their existing scheme or opt for AB PM-JAY.
• Additionally, senior citizens under private health insurance or the Employees’ State Insurance scheme will also be eligible to receive benefits under AB PM-JAY.

About AB PM-JAY

• AB PM-JAY is the world’s largest publicly funded health assurance scheme, providing a health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. 
• The scheme currently covers 55 crore individuals across 12.34 crore families. 
• Currently, beneficiaries are identified from the 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC), based on specific deprivation and occupational criteria across both rural and urban areas. 
• The scheme has covered 7.37 Crore hospital admissions including 49% of women beneficiaries, and has provided benefits of over ₹1 lakh crore. 

Continuous Expansion 

• The  AB PM-JAY  scheme has witnessed continuous expansion of the beneficiary base. 
• The scheme, which began by covering 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families comprising the bottom 40% of India's population, was later expanded to include 12 crore families considering India’s decadal population growth of 11.7 % over the 2011 population. 
• Additionally, 37 lakh ASHAs/AWWs/AWHs and their families were also brought under free healthcare benefits. 

ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) 

• ASHA workers are community health workers who are part of India's National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). 
• They are trained to provide information and aid people in accessing the benefits of various healthcare schemes of the government.