SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Oct 30: More than 23.56 lakh elderly individuals (aged 70 and above) in Jharkhand will benefit from the ambitious health scheme, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (ABPM-JAY), which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
Under this scheme, elderly residents aged 70 years or older will receive health coverage of Rs 5 lakh annually, regardless of their income or economic status. Currently, only individuals from poorer sections of society are eligible for benefits under the existing Ayushman Bharat scheme.
Beneficiary estimates and census data
According to the last census conducted in 2011, there were a total of 2,356,678 individuals over the age of 60 in Jharkhand. It is believed that by 2024, all of these individuals will have reached the age of 70 or above. Since the Union Health Ministry has estimated the number of beneficiaries based on the 2011 census, the Jharkhand government is relying on this data as well.
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Guidelines pending from Centre
However, the central government’s health department has yet to issue guidelines and implementation procedures for the new scheme to the state health department. Consequently, senior government officials have been reticent about providing detailed information.
Dr CK Sahi, the Director-in-Chief of Health in the state, stated on Wednesday morning that the department has not yet received guidelines from the National Health Mission (NHM). The identification of beneficiaries in Jharkhand will be based on age certificates or Aadhaar cards.
“The Union Health Ministry has not released any guidelines about when the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana will begin and the process for issuing its card, ‘Ayushman Vaya Vandana’,” said the Director-in-Chief of Health in the state. “However, I can say it will resume soon in Jharkhand,” he added.
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How to apply for the card
Interested individuals must register on the PM-JAY portal or the Ayushman App to obtain the ‘Ayushman Vaya Vandana’ card.
Those who already possess an Ayushman Card will also need to apply again through the portal or app for the new card. The new portal will be launched soon.
Family coverage details
Under the new health scheme for elderly individuals (aged 70 years and above), each family will receive health coverage of only Rs 5 lakh. If there are two members aged 70 or older in a family, the coverage will be divided between them.
