Budget 2024: Govt may double beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat scheme

Union Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget in the Lok Sabha on July 23; the Budget session of Parliament to take place from July 22 to August 12

Ahead of the Union Budget 2024, reports indicate that the government is considering a significant expansion of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). The proposed plan aims to double the number of beneficiaries over the next three years.

The expansion would initially cover all individuals aged over 70 years, with annual insurance coverage increasing to Rs 10 lakh. If these proposals are approved, the additional cost to the exchequer is estimated to be Rs 12,076 crore per year, according to estimates from the National Health Authority, as reported by The Economic Times.

The report quoted sources as saying that discussions are ongoing to expand the beneficiary base of the AB-PMJAY over the next three years, and if this plan is executed, it will provide health coverage to over two-thirds of the country’s population.

Some of these proposals are expected to be announced in the 2024 Union Budget, which is set to be presented in the Lok Sabha on July 23.

Interim Budget 2024

In the interim Budget 2024, the government increased the allocation for the AB-PMJAY. This scheme, which offers health coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 120 million families, received a boost to Rs 7,200 crore. Additionally, Rs 646 crore was designated for the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).

In her address to the joint session of Parliament on June 27, President Droupadi Murmu announced that all elderly individuals over 70 years of age would now be eligible for free treatment under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana. This expansion is expected to cover an additional 40-50 million beneficiaries aged over 70, the report stated.

The Rs 5 lakh limit for AB-PMJAY, set in 2018, is being reconsidered for an increase to accommodate inflation and provide relief for expensive treatments such as transplants and cancer care, the report stated.

Gaps in India’s healthcare

In its October 2021 report titled "Health Insurance for India’s Missing Middle", the NITI Aayog recommended expanding the existing health insurance scheme. It indicated that around 30 per cent of India’s population lacks health insurance, revealing significant gaps in coverage.

The AB-PMJAY flagship programme for Universal Health Coverage, along with state government extension schemes, provides extensive hospitalisation cover to the lowest 50 per cent of the population, the report said.

About 20 per cent of the population uses social health insurance and private voluntary health insurance, primarily targetting individuals with higher incomes.

However, despite these efforts, 30 per cent of the population remains uninsured. Due to gaps in PMJAY coverage and overlap between schemes, the actual number of uninsured individuals is even higher, the report stated.