Centre spends Rs 1.1L crore on free hospitalization under PM-JAY

Since its launch in September 2018, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) has provided over Rs 1.1 lakh crore in free hospitalisation benefits to beneficiaries, significantly enhancing healthcare accessibility for India’s most vulnerable populations.According to the official data, more than 79 million individuals have benefited from PM-JAY scheme, which provides an annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh.

The scheme was made available for 107 million poor households in the country since September 2018, covering the bottom 40% of India’s population.

PM-JAY can help in reducing out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures, which previously pushed millions into poverty. At the scheme’s inception, around 62% of healthcare costs were paid directly by individuals, a burden that drove many into financial hardship.

States with the highest number of beneficiaries include Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat.

Under PMJAY, close to 2,000 procedures are available for beneficiaries to get cashless treatment which includes all the costs related to treatment, medicines, supplies, diagnostic services, physician’s fees, room charges, surgeon charges, OT & ICU charges, etc. The top speciality care treatments availed by beneficiaries to date are general medicine, infectious diseases, general surgery, medical oncology, ophthalmology and orthopaedics. Among the procedures availed by the people, are hemodialysis, screening for Covid-19, multiple packages and acute febrile illness.

Over 355.40 million Ayushman Cards have been issued to eligible individuals, enabling them to access healthcare at 30,672 empaneled public and private hospitals.

Recognising the impact of high medical bills on financial stability, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has recommended extending PM-JAY to cover the “missing middle” on a paid basis. Recently, the scheme was expanded to include senior citizens above 70, regardless of income.

A Niti Aayog report from October 2021 highlighted that 30% of India’s population, approximately 400 million people, still lack health coverage. This segment, termed the “missing middle,” remains vulnerable without financial protection for health-related expenses. The Financial Express