In October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an expansion of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to include health coverage for individuals aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their income level. To facilitate this extension, the Centre introduced the Ayushman Vaya Vandana card, which offers an additional Rs 5 lakh cover annually for seniors above 70 years old. This coverage will be divided among multiple elderly beneficiaries within a household.
As per the latest government data, within 11 days of the expansion of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) to include individuals aged 70 and older, there has been a significant increase in enrollments from elderly beneficiaries. Data from the National Health Authority shows that nearly 6.5 lakh elderly individuals have successfully enrolled and obtained Ayushman cards during this timeframe. Kerala is the frontrunner in the enrollment of senior citizens, with Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Haryana following closely behind.
The Ayushman Vaya Vandana card aims to provide complimentary medical services to elderly individuals living in larger establishments. This initiative is designed to assist senior citizens in accessing high-quality medical treatment whenever needed. The card is available to all seniors above the age of 70, regardless of their income status. This ensures that every elderly individual can receive free hospital treatment, regardless of their economic background. To enrol, eligible applicants can apply online through the official Ayushman Yojana Portal or the mobile app. It takes 15 minutes to get the card.
Here are a few simple steps to enrol for the Ayushman Vaya Vandana card
1. Go to the official website of the National Health Authority.
2. Log in on the homepage with the provided captcha code, input your mobile number, and authenticate it to receive an OTP. After entering the OTP and the second captcha code, proceed with the login process. This step can be completed by either the beneficiary or an operator.
3. Select the relevant options in the drop-down menus for scheme, state, sub-scheme, district, and search criteria on the next screen.
4. If no details are found, select the ‘clear here to enroll’ option for seniors aged 70 and above.
5. On the subsequent screen, enter your Aadhaar number, captcha code, and click ‘search’. If the details are not found in the database, a message prompting you to click on ‘fresh enrollment of 70’ will appear at the bottom. Click on it.
6. The subsequent screen will display the e-KYC option (AadC OTP, Fingerprint, and Iris). Applicants have the flexibility to choose any of the options available. For the purpose of this guide, we will focus on the AadC OTP. Please verify your AadC number, select the consent box after thoroughly reviewing it, and then click on ‘Allow’.
7. An OTP will be dispatched to both the AadC-linked mobile number as well as the user’s mobile number. Kindly input these OTPs into the designated boxes.
8. Upon successful completion of e-KYC, a confirmation message will appear stating ‘e-KYC is successful. You are eligible for the AB PM-JAY 70 years or more scheme’. Choose the relevant beneficiary option, such as CGHS, CAPF, none of the above, or alternatively self-declare and provide the necessary information in the provided box to proceed.
9. Once the e-KYC process is successfully validated, the system will automatically retrieve beneficiary particulars such as name, father’s name, date of birth, etc. Nevertheless, the beneficiary will be required to capture a photograph for archival purposes and furnish additional details including mobile number, category, pin code, address, and comprehensive information regarding all family members prior to finalizing and submitting the form. Please be advised that these details are mandatory and must be completed in their entirety prior to submission.
10. Upon successful submission, the process will be complete and a pop-up message will prompt on the screen stating ‘e-KYC is successfully completed. Please allow some time to download the Ayushman card’. The card will be available for download for senior citizens after 15 minutes.
Launched on September 23, 2018, the AB PM-JAY scheme is the largest publicly funded health assurance program globally, offering health coverage of Rs 5 lakh annually per family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 55 crore individuals, equivalent to 12.34 crore families. All eligible family members, regardless of age, receive coverage under the scheme. To date, there have been 7.37 crore hospital admissions covered by the scheme, with 49% of beneficiaries being women. The scheme has provided the public with over Rs. 1 lakh crore in benefits.
