Interim Budget 2024: Will the govt hike Ayushman Bharat insurance cover? Here's what we know

Budget 2024-25: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman may surprise everyone by hiking the coverage provided under the Ayushman Bharat scheme by almost 50 per cent from the existing insurance cover. Government sources told CNBC-TV18 that the government is currently discussing the possibilities. At present, the health insurance cover offers Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. 

Ayushman Bharat, floated in September 2018, is part of the National Health Policy 2017. Its primary goal is to ensure Universal Health Coverage. Within Ayushman Bharat, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana or PM-JAY stands as the world's largest health assurance scheme. The scheme aims to provide cashless hospitalization care to underprivileged and vulnerable households through existing sub-centers and health and wellness centers (HWCs).

According to government statistics, the programme presently has 55 crore individuals, which is equal to 12 crore families. Moreover, various states and union territories that have adopted AB PM-JAY have independently expanded the number of recipients, bearing the cost themselves. 

Government data reveals that as of December 20, 2023, approximately 28.45 Crore Ayushman Cards have been issued since the inception of the programme. Out of this total, around 9.38 crore Ayushman Cards were generated in 2023 alone. 

According to the official data, over 100 million families possess at least one Ayushman card, with each member of a beneficiary family entitled to one. Uttar Pradesh leads with 46 million individuals holding Ayushman cards, followed by Madhya Pradesh (37 million), Gujarat and Chhattisgarh with 20 million each, and Maharashtra (19 million).

Women account for approximately 49 per cent of the total Ayushman cards created and approximately 48 per cent of total authorised hospital admissions, Health Ministry data stated.

According to a government release published on March 31, 2022, Odisha and NCT of Delhi have not joined the scheme, while West Bengal withdrew from it in January 2019.

Under the scheme, a staggering 6.11 crore hospital admissions, totaling Rs 78,188 crores, were authorised in 2023. Of this, 1.7 crore hospital admissions, worth over Rs 25,000 crores, were authorised in the year 2023 (Jan-Dec 2023). The AB PM-JAY scheme has also enlisted a comprehensive network of 26,901 hospitals, including 11,813 private hospitals, to offer healthcare services to the beneficiaries of the scheme.

To access the benefits provided by the AB-PMJAY scheme, it is necessary to have the names of all family members included in the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011. The SECC-2011 is a survey conducted to assess the socio-economic status of households in both rural and urban areas.

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