New Delhi, November 13: According to reports, more than five lakh senior citizens aged 70 years and above have enrolled for Ayushman cards since the expansion of the AB-PMJAY health assurance scheme.

Ayushman Vaya Vandana Card, which provides free health coverage to all elderly people over 70 years of age, regardless of their income, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi two weeks ago.

It was approved by the Union Cabinet in September. This is in addition to the existing AB PM-JAY family scheme under which senior citizens will have a separate cover of Rs 5 lakh per annum. Reports citing National Health Authority data showed that 5,12,598 registration requests were received under the yojana.

Of these, 4,64,541 have been approved, while the status of 47,916 is pending. Approximately 141 requests were rejected. The highest number of applications for registration were filed in Madhya Pradesh (1.66 lakh), followed by Kerala (1.28 lakh), Uttar Pradesh (69,044) and Gujarat (25,491).

“We shared IEC (information, education, communication) materials with all states. We are sure that as the news spreads, more and more senior citizens will get involved,” said an official.

The scheme aims to potentially benefit around 6 crore individuals in 4.5 crore families. This will prove to be extremely beneficial, even though India’s elderly population is projected to double by 2050. Population growth will increase the demand for geriatric care.

Eligible beneficiaries can apply for the Ayushman Bharat Senior Citizen Scheme at www.beneficiary.nha.gov.in or using the Ayushman app. AB PM-JAY, the world’s largest publicly funded health cover scheme, was launched in 2018 to provide health insurance to 55 crore people, accounting for 12.34 crore poor and vulnerable families.

IANS